Afghanistan - terrorism - USA
US doubts Afghan claims over civilian deaths
Friday 22 August 2008
The Afghan government claims that a US-led strike took 76 lives, most of them children and some women. White House officials called the statement dubious, warning against efforts to blame the US for casualties of extremist violence.
Friday 22 August 2008
By AFP (text) / G. Couderc, C. Westerheide (video)Read France 24's report "Afghanistan's esoteric war"
The White House on Friday reacted skeptically to the Afghan interior ministry's charge that a US-led strike in western Afghanistan had killed 76 civilians, including 50 children and 19 women.
"I would say that the United States and NATO have taken great steps to avoid any civilian loss of life. I would also caution on first reports out of Afghanistan," spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters.
"Often the Taliban and extremist groups are very quick to get out there. And violence that they perpetrated, they blame on the United States or our allies," he said as President George W. Bush spent time on his Texas ranch.
"And so I think it's very important to assess these situations, because the United States and NATO take very seriously our obligations to avoid civilian casualties," said Johndroe.
The US-led coalition in Afghanistan earlier confirmed it carried out an operation that included air strikes in the western province of Herat but said 30 Taliban rebels were killed only and said it knew of no civilian deaths.
The Afghan defense ministry meanwhile gave yet another toll -- five civilians and 25 rebels dead.
It was impossible to independently verify what happened in volatile Shindand district, but the conflicting reports highlight the difficulty in establishing facts in the mounting clashes between troops and rebels.
"Seventy-six people, all civilians and most of them women and children, were martyred during the operation by coalition forces in Shindand district of Herat province," the interior ministry said in a statement.
The dead were "19 women, seven men and the rest children all under 15 years of age," it said.
Pour aller plus loin
Pour aller plus loin
23/08/2008 14:50:09 Alert a moderator
Afghanistan
By Pierre - Galway, Ireland
I saw your excellent report of French troops in action in Afghanistan the other day. The action they were engaged in ended with a US air strike on houses where it was said soldiers 'believed' the Taliban had retreated. No attempt was made by the French soldiers to verify this and the houses were bombed to bits by US planes. Undoubtedly, any civilians there were killed. Why didn't your reporter verify this? Why did you end the report there? The real human story was just begining. What I witnessed was the defeat of the French/US because they were afraid/ill-equipped to fight on the ground.
23/08/2008 03:04:56 Alert a moderator
Hust another massacre committed by The US Army
By Espen - Norway
These cruel and ruthless actions should be condemned. But as always The US are denying the accusations, claiming they where only killing terrorists. The atrocities commited by these evil soldiers will never be forgiven, nor forgotten. They should be sent to the war crime tribunal in the Hague immediately.