[Marinir] Coalition Forces Admit Killing More Civilians

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With Compliments .......
Khusus bagi pihak-pihak yang masih saja menggongong soal pelanggaran HAM 
oleh TNI, sebaiknya prihatin dan mawas diri atas kelakuan "Tuan-Tuannya" di 
Irak.



http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=360962&rel_no=1

Coalition Forces Admit Killing More Civilians
Mounting deaths may deepen hatred, fear of foreign troops

Daud Khan (aimalkhan)
Published 2007-05-12 03:19 (KST)

The U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan on Friday admitted the killing
of civilians in an anti-Taliban operation in the restive southern region of
the war-battered country.

This is the second time the American forces have admitted to causing
civilian deaths in Afghanistan. Last week, the U.S. military sought apology
from Afghans for killing at least 12 civilians in Afghanistan's eastern city
of Jalalabad on March 4.


"Today we met with the families of those victims -- 19 dead and 50 injured,"
Col John Nicholson, commander of the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Brigade
in eastern Afghanistan, told Pentagon reporters by video conference from
Jalalabad last week.

On Friday (May 11), a statement from the U.S. main Bagram base, located some
35 kilometers, or 20 miles, north of Kabul, said: "There are confirmed
reports of civilian casualties; however, it is unknown at this time how many
civilian casualties resulted from the fighting."

Three days back, Governor of Afghanistan's Helmand province, also known
as the "opium capital" of the country, told journalists 21 civilians were
killed in coalition forces' air strike in Sangin district.

Without revealing the number of those died in the fighting and air strike,
the military confirmed the death of one child and injuries to 20 more
non-combatants in the "16-hour battle" with the Taliban militants.

In the confessional statement, the U.S. military argued their air strike was
the result of Taliban's "repeated attacks" on the joint patrol of the Afghan
National Army (ANA) and the coalition troops.

The previous few weeks have seen mounting civilian casualties in operation
by the coalition and NATO/ISAF troops in different parts of Afghanistan.
On March 4, the U.S. army opened fire at civilians after a suicide attack at
their convoy on Kabul-Jalalabad Highway, the 75-kilometer road linking
Afghanistan with the border areas of Pakistan.

Official figures mention 16 civilian deaths, but locals and witnesses said
the number was over 25. Dozens more sustained injuries. The incident was
followed by angry protests from residents chanting slogans against the
Afghan government and demanding withdrawal of the foreign troops from
Afghanistan.

The incident was following by another in the city of Jalalabad on April 29,
in which the American troops raided a house and killed six inmates,
including a woman and a boy. The military said the "compound" was used
as a suicide bombing cell. But the residents said all the dead were common
citizens.

Again there were angry protests in Jalalabad, the most peaceful city of
Afghanistan. The residents were on roads asking the foreign troops to leave
the country.

During the several days of protests, joined by people from all walks of
life, an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush was burnt and slogans
were chanted against the Afghan government and foreign troops.

Just 24 hours after the Jalalabad incident on April 29, the coalition troops
announced the killing of 136 Taliban fighters in air strike in Shindand
district of the country's western Herat province on April 30.

Hours after the military claim, protesting residents were marching on the
roads and in the streets chanting slogans against the foreign troops. They
said 51 of the dead were innocent civilians.

Official figures later confirmed the killing of 21 civilians in the Herat
operation, but fresh reports suggested that the number was ranging from 50
to 80. No official confirmation of the figure was issued so far.

Hours after, the U.S. military offered apologies for the March 4 civilian
deaths in Nangarhar (Jalalabad), a provincial governor, on May 9, announced
that 21 residents were killed in an air strike in southern Afghanistan.

Women and children were among the new fatalities resulting from the
bombardment of the Sangin district by the warplanes of the foreign military,
Governor of Helmand province Asadullah Wafa told journalists.

With every incident of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, anger among
Afghan people, already tired with lawlessness, unemployment and widespread
corruption, is increasing. And the recent anti-government and anti-U.S.
demonstrations were just fresh examples of the widening anger among Afghans.

Already fed up with the five years harsh rule of Taliban, Afghans cheered
the incoming of foreign troops and welcomed them as their liberators.
However, if continued, the mounting civilian casualties will force the
common Afghan to review his or her previous decision.

©2007 OhmyNews