Thursday, 2nd June – Air strikes on houses considered necessary with the coordination of Afghan forces, a top NATO official said despite President Karzai’s persistent calls for an end to air strikes on civilian houses.
According to a NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu speaking in Brussels said that alliance takes Karzai’s concerns very seriously and would continue to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties while insisting on NATO air strikes to continue against the insurgents.
She said, “In many of these operations, Afghans are in the lead,”.
In a statement on Tuesday Afghan president Hamid Karzai once again warned NATO for air strikes on Afghan civilian homes and said that such air strikes will no longer be tolerated.
President Karzai’s warnings came after 14 civilians were killed in a Nato air strike in Nawzad district of the southern Helmand province.
During a press conference president Hamid Karzai said, “From this moment on, air strikes on the homes of Afghan people are not allowed,”.
He further added that the issue has been discussed many times with his international partners to avoid civilian deaths in their air strikes. He said that foreign forces will be considered as occupying forces if they continued targeting civilian homes, and that Afghans knows how treat with occupation forces, he said.
He also said that Afghanistan is willing to continue cooperation with NATO forces and that they should themselves stop such strikes otherwise Afghanistan has a lot of ways to stop the strikes.
Pentagon Chief Robert Gates in reaction to Karzai’s criticism said that Karzai’s criticism of air strikes that lead to the death of civilians shows his peoples pain and the need for joint probes to avoid such deaths.
Gates told reporters, “I think President Karzai is reflecting the pain and suffering that the Afghan people have had to endure”.
Mr. Gates further said, “I think he also recognizes — and the Afghan people do — that we are their ally, we are their friend and we are trying to help them develop the capability to protect themselves”.
Civilian casualties has long been a controversial issue and a factor straining Kabul relations with Washington.
