- KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s president has warned President Barack Obama that civilian casualties in the war are a serious problem that needs to be better addressed by the US -led coalition.
A statement issued Thursday by the Afghan government says President Hamid Karzai and Obama held a video conference call on Wednesday — the same day that NATO forces admitted accidentally killing nine Afghan boys in northeast Afghanistan.
Civilian casualties have long been a source of friction between the NATO force and Karzai. The president condemned the deaths, saying the victims were “innocent children who were collecting firewood for their families.” NATO apologized for the deaths of the nine boys, saying its troops miscommunicated the location of militants.
