Obama vows to probe US soldier’s Afghan massacre
AFGHANISTAN: President Barack Obama promised a speedy
investigation into the “shocking” killing of 16 Afghans by a rogue US
soldier, which fuelled tensions after the burning of Korans at a US-run
base. Obama telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to convey his
condolences after the soldier gunned down civilians, including women and
children, in their homes in a pre-dawn rampage in the southern province
of Kandahar.
The US embassy in Kabul sent out an alert to its citizens in
Afghanistan warning that as a result of the shooting, “there is a risk
of anti-American feelings and protests in coming days”. Relations
plunged to an all-time low last month after the burning of Korans at an
American-run military base sparked days of anti-US protests, which left
some 40 people dead and prompted an apology from Obama.
Sunday's massacre poses an acute new test of the US-Afghan alliance,
as the two countries pursue difficult talks on securing a strategic pact
to govern their partnership once foreign combat troops leave Afghanistan
in 2014.
Obama described the massacre as “tragic and shocking”, the White
House said, and assured Karzai of Washington's “commitment to establish
the facts as quickly as possible and to hold fully accountable anyone
responsible”.
In an angry statement after the Kandahar shootings, Karzai said that
“when Afghan people are killed deliberately by US forces, this action is
murder and terror and an unforgivable action”.
Kandahar province is a stronghold of Taliban insurgents fighting to
oust Karzai's government, which is supported by some 130,000 US-led NATO
troops.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also called Karzai and assured him
that a “full investigation” was under way. In Brussels, NATO chief
Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed shock and offered his “heartfelt
condolences”.
Australia, which has about 1,550 soldiers in Afghanistan, also
offered condolences but vowed to stay focused on the mission.
“Of course, an incident like this is a truly distressing one but it
is not going to distract us from our purpose in Afghanistan. We know
what we're there to do,” Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.
In Sunday's shooting, the US soldier entered the homes of villagers
in Kandahar province's Panjwayi district and killed 16 people including
nine children and three women, according to a statement from Karzai.
It quoted a wounded 16-year-old, who was shot in the leg, as telling
Karzai by phone that the soldier entered their home in the dark before
dawn, woke up his family members and then shot them.
An AFP reporter at the scene of the killings counted the bodies of 16
people, including women and children.
In one house, he saw 10 people killed and burned in one room. Another
woman was lying dead at the entrance of the house and there were at
least two children just two or three years old among the dead.
AFP |