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U.S. Admits Afghan Civilian Deaths
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press Writer
published 01:34 AM - JULY 07, 2002 Eastern Time
Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah, left, and Commander of US troops in Afghanistan Lt. Gen. Dan McNeill, right, answer reporters' questions at a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, July 6, 2002. They spoke at the joint news conference following a preliminary investigation into the air attack in Kakarak and four other hamlets, where US troops said they had observed anti-aircraft guns. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ Seeking to avoid a rift with Afghan allies, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan acknowledged Saturday that civilians had been killed in a U.S. airstrike this week and promised to find ways to avoid such mistakes in future.
The statement by Lt. Gen. Dan McNeill was made at a joint press conference with Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah in response to Afghan allegations that 48 people were killed and 117 wounded in an air raid Monday in Uruzgan province.
The dead included 25 members of an extended family celebrating a wedding in the village of Kakarak, Afghans said.
"Subsequent to the operation, we determined there were civilian casualties," McNeill said. "We will initiate a more formal investigation to determine what caused these civilian casualties and what we can do to make sure they do not happen again."
For his part, Dr. Abdullah reaffirmed that the Afghan government, which owes its existence to American support, fully backs U.S.-led operations against Taliban and al-Qaida remnants more than six months of the hardline Islamic militia's rule collapsed.
"The question is not whether to continue the operations against al-Qaida or not," Dr. Abdullah said. "We should find out ways and means in order to prevent tragedies like losses of civilians as collateral damage in this campaign."
U.S. investigators who visited the bombing site expressed doubts about some of the Afghan claims. American officers said privately that the amount of blood appeared inconsistent with the numbers reported killed and that they could not account for all the wounded.
The spokesman for the investigators, Maj. Gary Tallman, said they saw only five graves, none from the wedding party despite repeated requests. However, The Associated Press was taken to the grave site by a family member, who pointed out 25 graves which appeared freshly dug.
U.S. officials also insisted they saw anti-aircraft fire coming from the area, including the compound where the partygoers died. However, they could find no trace of an anti-aircraft gun.
The incident threatens to strain relations between the Afghans and the U.S. military at a critical juncture in the search for leading fugitives, including Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. U.S. officials refused to say what U.S. forces in the area were looking for, but Mullah Omar had been rumored to have been hiding in Uruzgan, among other places.
McNeill said he accepted the Afghan figures for now and repeatedly pledged to make all efforts to minimize civilian casualties.
In Kennebunkport, Maine, President George W. Bush said he wanted the Afghan people to know that "anytime innocent life is lost, we're sad. Our country values life, all life and we'll find out what the facts are."
McNeill said that if innocent civilians died, "it was an accident" and assured the Afghans that "we would not attack our allies."
"It is important that we keep this coalition together and properly oriented," he said. "We are guests and they are our allies."
The issue of civilian casualties is especially sensitive in ethnic Pashtun areas, such as Uruzgan, which are the center of ongoing military operations. The raid Monday followed a series of m ishaps in which U.S. forces mistakenly attacked civilians or pro-government forces.
Pashtuns already feel marginalized by the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, which is heavily influenced by ethnic Tajiks from the anti-Taliban northern alliance, though Karzai is Pashtun.
Most of the Taliban were Pashtuns, the largest ethnic community. Reprisal attacks against Pashtuns are reportedly widespread in the north where Pashtuns are a minority.
In the Pashtun center of Kandahar, Khalid Pashtoon, a spokesman for the regional government that includes Uruzgan, said the local populace was extremely angry about the attacks and "there is no doubt" that some people could take up arms against the United States.
"This is what the Russians learned, the people can be friends one day and then this happens and then they are a very fierce enemy," Pashtoon told The Associated Press.
Pashtoon blamed the Americans for not checking with senior Afghan officials before the attack and warned of more accidents if the United States does coordinate better with local residents.
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Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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