Afghan officials claim 64 civilian casualties in NATO airstrikes

[News_Editor]

Afghan officials claim 64 civilian casualties in NATO airstrikes

2011-02-20 22:45:53 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- Provincial officials on Sunday claimed that coalition forces killed as many as 64 civilians in northeastern Afghanistan on Friday and Saturday, while the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said this was unlikely.

Kunar Province Governor Fazlullah Wahidi told Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN) that 20 women and 29 children were among 64 casualties after Afghan and ISAF forces engaged armed insurgents in the Ghaziabad district of Kunar. "They were killed in ground offensives and air raids," he told the Afghan news agency.

U.S. Army Colonel Patrick Hynes, ISAF Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director, said the alliance was unaware of ISAF-caused civilian casualties. "We don't have any reports of civilian deaths in operations in Kunar," he told BNO News.

Hynes confirmed an ISAF air weapons team engaged a large number of armed insurgents on early Friday morning in a remote valley of Ghaziabad district. "Our reporting indicates 36 insurgents were killed which was confirmed through weapons system video and the fact that they were carrying weapons," he said.

The U.S. Army Colonel indicated it does not expect civilian casualties, although ISAF sent an incident assessment team to look into the allegations. "This operation took place in a very remote valley over very rugged terrain at night," Hynes said. "The weapons system video conclusively shows there were no children present during any of the engagements. Moreover, based on the video, there is no potential for collateral damage."

An earlier ISAF statement said a large number of armed individuals emerged from a nearby building when coalition forces first opened fire after observing the insurgents. "[They] were subsequently targeted and killed by the air weapons team," the statement said, adding: "Several additional armed individuals were positively identified and killed in the course of the more than four-hour engagement."

ISAF said it also engaged an unknown number of insurgents in the same area on Saturday, claiming they were moving to a known fighting position. "After gaining positive identification, coalition forces engaged the enemy positions with small-arms fire and close air support. Initial reporting indicates no civilian casualties," it said in a statement.

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan as a result of the war have been rising in recent years. In August, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released its 2010 Mid-Year Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. It revealed that the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose by approximately 31 percent in the first semester of 2010.

However, the Taliban and other insurgent groups remain the main causes of these casualties. "Afghan children and women are increasingly bearing the brunt of this conflict. They are being killed and injured in their homes and communities in greater numbers than ever before," said Staffan de Mistura, Special Representative of the Secretary-General.

From January 1 to June 30, 2010, UNAMA registered a total of 3,268 civilian casualties, including 1,271 deaths and 1,997 injuries. From this number, insurgents were responsible for 2,477 casualties (76 percent of all casualties, 53 percent more than in 2009) while 386 were attributed to pro-government forces such as NATO. It accounted for 12 percent of all casualties, which is 30 percent less than in 2009.

UNAMA said that the increase in the number of casualties is attributed to the use of a greater number of larger and more sophisticated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the number of civilians assassinated and executed by anti-government forces (which included public executions of children).

"The devastating human impact of these events underscores that, nine years into the conflict, measures to protect Afghan civilians effectively and to minimize the impact of the conflict on basic human rights are more urgent than ever. All those concerned must do more to protect civilians and comply with their legal obligations not to attack civilians," said Georgette Gagnon, Director of Human Rights for UNAMA.

IEDs and suicide attacks by insurgents killed 557 Afghans and injured 1,137 in the first six months of 2010. On the other hand, aerial attacks by ISAF remained the most harmful pro-government tactic, causing 69 of the 223 civilian deaths attributed to pro-government forces in the period.

The southern region witnessed more than half of assassinations and executions in Afghanistan, where more than one hundred Afghan civilians were killed in such incidents. These civilians killed included teachers, nurses, doctors, tribal elders, community leaders, provincial and district officials, other civilians including children, and civilians working for international military forces and international organizations.

UNAMA recommended insurgents in its report to stop the use of IEDs as these cause a great number of fatalities. The agency also suggested the Afghan Government to create a public body to lead its response to major civilian casualty incidents and its interaction with international military forces.

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