Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul asked the UN Security Council on Thursday to help close terrorist sanctuaries beyond Afghan borders, which he said were the sources of continued attacks against his country, dpa reported.
Rassoul was taking part in the council debate in New York on Afghanistan. This week UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the situation there was grim and the country suffering "considerable political volatility and disconcerting levels of insecurity."
Rassoul said Afghans still "suffer an endless campaign of terror, carried out by Afghanistan's enemies."
"The continued spate of attacks, which originate from terrorist sanctuaries and safe-havens beyond our borders, has generated an unprecedented level of anger and frustration among a wide spectrum of Afghan society," he said.
He said the terrorist sanctuaries were harming Afghanistan and the region.
The Kabul government is transitioning to full assumption of security responsibility of the country by the end of 2014. The US has begun pulling out its military forces while NATO-led international forces are helping Kabul fight the Taliban, which was toppled from power by the United States 10 years ago.
The council session was called to review progress of the political transition in Kabul and discuss Ban's report. The report said average monthly "security incidents" were up 39 per cent through August, compared to the same period in 2010.
"Armed clashes and improvised explosive devices continue to constitute the majority of incidents," the report said.
The report also said the volatile south and south-eastern region bordering Pakistan remained "the focus of military activity," accounting for two-thirds of total security incidents. The Taliban have launched a spate of complex suicide attacks even in capital and provincial headquarters.
The UN mission in Afghanistan documented 971 civilian deaths and 1,411 injuries during June-August, an increase of 5 per cent over the same period in 2010, the report said.
It said bombings and suicide attacks accounted for 45 per cent of total civilian casualties, an increase of 177 per cent.