Afghan civilians caught in crossfire
Casualties could undermine allies
By Kim Barker
Chicago Tribune
KABUL, Afghanistan — The men told the same story, of how foreign troops bombed their villages long after the Taliban fighters had left, how the bombs killed women and children, goats and sheep, and how if they had one wish, it would be for the foreigners to leave.
One man said 60 civilians had been killed in the air strike June 29 in a village in southern Helmand province, one of the most remote and dangerous areas of Afghanistan. Another villager, likely a Taliban sympathizer, exaggerated that as many as 500 innocent people had died, according to video of the bomb's aftermath provided by Ariana TV station, one of the few media outlets to visit the insurgent stronghold.
"Our children are being killed," said Abdul Qader, who said he lost at least seven family members. "Our homes are being destroyed. We are bombed. They destroy us and they kill us. What should we do?"
The air strike, near the village of Hyderabad, came after fighting between the Taliban and Afghan soldiers supported by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. The video showed shrapnel-riddled tractors and mangled cars and homes that looked like piles of crushed crackers.
Such bombings and the allegations of civilian casualties, exaggerated or not, are now the biggest challenge facing foreign forces trying to prop up Afghanistan's government. More than any suicide bombing or insurgent offensive, this issue has the potential to undermine foreign troops and ultimately hurt the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Western diplomats and Afghan officials say.
(Continued here.)
By Kim Barker
Chicago Tribune
KABUL, Afghanistan — The men told the same story, of how foreign troops bombed their villages long after the Taliban fighters had left, how the bombs killed women and children, goats and sheep, and how if they had one wish, it would be for the foreigners to leave.
One man said 60 civilians had been killed in the air strike June 29 in a village in southern Helmand province, one of the most remote and dangerous areas of Afghanistan. Another villager, likely a Taliban sympathizer, exaggerated that as many as 500 innocent people had died, according to video of the bomb's aftermath provided by Ariana TV station, one of the few media outlets to visit the insurgent stronghold.
"Our children are being killed," said Abdul Qader, who said he lost at least seven family members. "Our homes are being destroyed. We are bombed. They destroy us and they kill us. What should we do?"
The air strike, near the village of Hyderabad, came after fighting between the Taliban and Afghan soldiers supported by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. The video showed shrapnel-riddled tractors and mangled cars and homes that looked like piles of crushed crackers.
Such bombings and the allegations of civilian casualties, exaggerated or not, are now the biggest challenge facing foreign forces trying to prop up Afghanistan's government. More than any suicide bombing or insurgent offensive, this issue has the potential to undermine foreign troops and ultimately hurt the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Western diplomats and Afghan officials say.
(Continued here.)
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