The United Nations special envoy to Afghanistan has appealed for the remit of the international peacekeeping force, Isaf, to be expanded beyond Kabul to other parts of the country.

The backbone of Afghanistan's security apparatus must ultimately be the Afghan national army

John Negroponte US ambassador

Lakhdar Brahimi said such a move was essential if the advances made since the fall of the Taleban regime last year were to be maintained.

He told the UN Security Council that the country needed a force to help provide security pending the creation of an Afghan national army, currently being trained by American and French troops.

"A real security void exists in the country, leaving many Afghans feeling vulnerable and uncertain about their own and their country's future," he said.

"The expansion of Isaf would have an enormous impact on security and could be achieved with relatively few troops, at relatively little cost and with little danger."

However his words failed to convince those they needed to.

The French ambassador to the UN, Jean-David Levitte, said that expansion of the international force was academic, and that no country was ready to dispatch the thousands of troops necessary for such a move.

The US ambassador, John Negroponte, meanwhile said Washington remained committed to training the national army to provide the country with security.

Al-Qaeda hunt

The 4,500-strong Isaf force is limited by its UN mandate to Kabul, but problems of security exist across Afghanistan.

Brahimi: Afghans have been left vulnerable

Mr Brahimi has consistently expressed his concerns about lawlessness in the north of the country.

Recent incidents include armed attacks on aid agencies, robberies and the gang rape of a female international aid worker.

But Mr Negroponte emphasised that the top priority for the US was the hunt for the remnants of the al-Qaeda terror network in Afghanistan.

"The US focus in Afghanistan has continued to be centred on the conduct of the war on terrorism," he said.

"The backbone of Afghanistan's security apparatus must ultimately be the Afghan national army."

Nine months since the US launched its first strikes against Afghanistan, American planes continue to bomb the country as part of the mission to root out al-Qaeda.

Earlier this month, more than 40 civilians were killed by US bombs in Uruzgan province.