The United Nations has said that civilian casualties in Afghanistan have soared. The latest UN six-monthly report says the number of civilians killed or injured in Afghanistan has jumped 31%, despite a fall in the number of casualties caused by Nato-led forces. More than 1,250 civilians were killed in the first six months of 2010 and another 1,997 civilians were injured.The UN figures for civilian casualties were the worst in nine years of conflict. UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, called the report a wake-up call. The report said, Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 76% of the casualties, up from 53% last year while the number of Afghans killed or wounded by Nato forces fell by almost to a third to 12 per cent. The report shows that the number of deaths at the hands of international forces is down by 30%. The UN said, the decline was driven by a 64% fall in deaths and injuries caused by aerial attacks, which remain the deadliest tactic used by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The report noted that the number of civilians executed by insurgents also rose by 95%, especially in the southern part of the country, and included the public executions of children.A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai criticised the increase in civilian casualties. London-based rights group, Amnesty International said, the Taliban and other insurgent groups should be prosecuted for war crimes. Taliban has rejected the findings of the report.