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NATO air strikes kill children :
Stir fury in Afghanistan
AFGHANISTAN: Two of Nasim’s sons went into the hills to
collect firewood last week to warm the family’s humble home against the
biting Afghan winter chill. They never returned, killed along with seven
other children in a NATO air strike.
“The Americans are wild,” said the boys’ father, who uses only one
name and whose sons were aged 11 and 12, crying as he spoke. “They don’t
value humanity and don’t care about our children.
“The men who carried out the air strike and the ones who ordered it
should be brought to court.”
The nine killings outside Asadabad in Kunar province have unleashed
public fury over civilian casualties at a crucial time for foreign
forces in Afghanistan.
The accidental deaths led the US troop commander in Afghanistan,
General David Petraeus, to issue a rare public apology, while US
President Barack Obama also voiced “deep regret” to Afghan counterpart
Hamid Karzai.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says those
responsible could face disciplinary action.
But that may not be enough to stem growing Afghan anger at a time
when the battle for hearts and minds is keener than ever, with foreign
forces due to start handing over control of security to their Afghan
counterparts in July. The deaths in Kunar, a troubled northeastern
province bordering Pakistan, happened on Tuesday as troops fought back
after an insurgent rocket attack on their base.
Civilian casualties in foreign military operations targeting the
Taliban and other fighters have long been an issue in Afghanistan.
Karzai has repeatedly issued angry condemnations of foreign forces over
such deaths. Last week he went further still, warning them they would
face “huge problems” if the “daily killing of innocent civilians” did
not stop.
The United Nations’ special representative for children and armed
conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, also called for a “thorough review of
procedures” to prevent the deaths of children in the Afghan war
following the incident.
Protesting against the raid, about 500 people took to the streets in
the capital Kabul Sunday shouting “Death to America.”
Asadabad, Monday, AFP
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