The file photo shows members of Afghan security forces stand guard at the site of the attack outside the provincial police headquarters in Kandahar, capital of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, July 18, 2019. At least 12 people were killed and over 90 others injured in the attack. (Xinhua/Sanaullah Seiam)

 
More than 1,500 Afghan civilians were either killed or injured as a result of conflict and terrorist attacks in July, the highest number of any month this year, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said Saturday.

"The United Nations in Afghanistan reminds all parties to the conflict of their responsibility to protect civilians and to comply with their obligations under international law, as the latest UN documentation shows that civilian casualty rates returned to record high levels in the month of July," the mission said in a statement.

The statement came as negotiations between Taliban representative and a United States delegation were going on in Doha, the capital fo Qatar.

"As peace efforts have intensified in recent weeks so too has the conflict on the ground," Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghansitan and head of UNAMA, was quoted as saying in the statement.

"I call on all parties not to ramp up military operations thinking that doing so will give them a stronger position in talks about peace," said the envoy, adding "Escalating the conflict will have one primary result: greater loss of civilian life. Now is the time to demonstrate restraint and real respect for the lives of ordinary Afghan civilians."

The Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as more than 1,360 civilians were killed and over 2,440 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first six months of this year, according to the figures released by the UNAMA on Tuesday.

UNAMA urged all parties to the conflict to strengthen their engagement with the United Nations and reminds them of their responsibility to protect civilians, the statement added.