KABUL, 20 October 2006 — Afghan President Hamid Karzai told NATO forces yesterday to take more care to avoid civilian casualties after up to 20 people were reported killed in two bombing raids targeted at Taleban insurgents.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was investigating the reports arising from operations in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand this week and regretted any casualties.
“While the government of Afghanistan is committed to the fight against terrorism, (it) urges NATO forces to take maximum caution during anti-terrorist operations to protect the lives and safety of civilians,” Karzai said in a statement.
“I have mentioned this several times in the past that every effort should be made to ensure the safety of civilians and that inflicting harm to them is not acceptable to us.”
The statement said “enemies of Afghanistan” — a reference to the Taleban — had taken shelter in a residential area of Zhari district in Kandahar, which was the target of a NATO operation late Tuesday.
Nine civilians were killed and 11 others were wounded, it said, citing reports. The Kandahar governor, Asadullah Khalid, confirmed the incident Wednesday. He said eight civilians had been killed and nine wounded. ISAF said close air support was used in the operation and it believed there were “several civilian casualties.”
ISAF “makes every effort to minimize the risk of collateral damage in conducting its operations,” it said in a statement. The president’s statement cited other reports saying 11 civilians were killed in another operation in a residential area of Gereshk, in Helmand province. ISAF said late Wednesday it had deployed aircraft and attack helicopters to Gereshk around midnight Tuesday after police had come under “intense and systematic attack by Taleban forces.”
The target was a compound identified as one from which mortars were being fired into the district center. “Initial bomb damage (seen) from an observer on the ground confirmed a direct hit on the compound,” it said.
“We are aware of reports that several civilians were killed in the area overnight and these claims are being fully investigated. If civilians were killed in this incident, ISAF deeply regrets this.” Speaking at a press conference on a visit to London, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said, “One civilian casualty is one too many. It’s extremely regrettable.”
He added, “What is crystal clear is that NATO forces are not targeting civilians. But I think the larger part of the population, the Parliament and the government are happy with NATO’s presence.” The alliance chief said that NATO had to “create a climate of security and show to them that we are doing reconstruction and that they see development.
“Fortunately, we don’t see only fighting, we also see reconstruction.” De Hoop Scheffer called for better coordination “because NATO cannot possibly do everything.” “We need stronger coordination between civilian and military on the ground but also at a strategic level, and that means in the capitals and for instance in Brussels.”
