Nato Airstrike killed atleast 27 Hazaras in Uruzgan
azara
Nato and Afghanistan government launch inquiry after planes fire on
convoy of vehicles, killing at least 27 people
Jon Boone in Kabul and Matthew Weaver guardian.co.uk,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/22/nato-airstrike-deaths
Monday 22 February 2010 13.14 GMT Article history
Nato said its planes fired on what it believed was a group of
insurgents in southern Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, but later
discovered that civilians were killed.
At least 27 civilians were killed in a Nato airstrike in southern
Afghanistan yesterday, prompting a furious response from Afghan
officials. The airstrike – in which four women and a child are known
to have died – brought a personal apology from General Stanley
McChrystal, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, to the president, Hamid
Karzai.
It added to growing anger over the number of civilian casualties in
the Afghan conflict, and came hours after Karzai had urged Nato to do
more to protect civilians.
In a statement, the Afghanistan council of ministers condemned the air
strike as "unjustifiable".
The cabinet said initial reports indicated that Nato had fired on a
convoy of three vehicles, killing at least 27 people and injuring a
further 12.
McChrystal spoke to Karzai yesterday to express his regret and promise
an investigation.
"We are extremely saddened by the tragic loss of innocent lives," he
said.
"I have made it clear to our forces that we are here to protect the
Afghan people and inadvertently killing or injuring civilians
undermines their trust and confidence in our mission. We will redouble
our effort to regain that trust."
Syed Zahir Shah, the police chief of Kajran district, in Daikundi
province, said he spent all day yesterday helping to recover body
parts so they could be prepared for burial.
He said three four-wheel drive vehicles were hit while travelling
through a Taliban area. The vehicles were carrying passengers from
Daikundi province to various destinations, including Kandahar, Herat
and Iran.
All the victims were Hazaras, the ethnic group from the central
highlands who have always opposed the Taliban. Shah said the injured
included a six-year-old child who was taken for treatment in Uruzgan
and a nine-year-old girl.
He said all the vehicles were entirely destroyed and that many of the
bodies were so badly disfigured it was hard to identify them. Locals
say the injured were taken by helicopter to the US military base at
Bagram, north of Kabul.
The attack triggered fury from local politicians, including Muhammad
Hashim Watanwali, an MP from Uruzgan, who said Nato and Hamid Karzai
had repeatedly promised to bring a stop to civilian casualties,
including most recently at the opening of parliament on Saturday.
Amanullah Hotak, head of Uruzgan's provincial council, demanded a
government investigation into what happened.
He said: "We don't want their apologies or the money they always give
after every attack. We want them to kill all of us together instead of
doing it to us one by one."
Nato confirmed that its planes had fired on what it believed was a
group of insurgents on their way to attack a joint Nato and Afghan
patrol in the southern Uruzgan province.
The organisation said it had later discovered that women and children
had been hurt in the strike.
The incident was not part of Operation Moshtarak, the major offensive
to combat the Taliban in Helmand province.
Zemeri Bashary, an Afghan interior ministry spokesman, said the air
strike hit three minibuses on a major road near the Uruzgan border
with the central Day Kundi province.
Bashary said the 42 people in the vehicles were all civilians.
On Saturday, Karzai criticised Nato troops for not doing enough to
protect civilian lives.
During a speech to the opening session of the Afghan parliament he
called for extra caution from Nato.
"We need to reach the point where there are no civilian casualties,"
Karzai said. "Our effort and our criticism will continue until we
reach that goal."
Nato claims it has taken steps to reduce civilian casualties,
primarily through reducing air strikes and tightening its rules of
engagement.
However, in the offensive against Marjah, two Nato rockets killed 12
people in one house and others were caught in the crossfire.
Nato said at least 16 civilians had been killed during the offensive
so far, although human rights groups claim the total is at least 19.
Last Thursday, an air strike in the northern Kunduz province missed
the insurgents it was targeting and killed seven policemen.
The continued loss of civilian lives will make it harder for Nato as
it attempts to win the support of local Afghans against Taliban
militants in the south.