UN slams NATO for civilian killings

Press TV, Thursday, 15 April, 2010, 22:12:44 GMT

The UN's envoy to Afghanistan slams US-led NATO forces for killing civilians, calling on them to do their "utmost to minimize harm" to ordinary Afghans.

The United Nations secretary general's special representative to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, said on Thursday that he was "deeply saddened and seriously concerned" about the loss of civilian lives in Afghanistan.

The statement came days after four civilians were killed and 8 others injured by NATO forces in the southern province of Kandahar.

"I am deeply saddened and seriously concerned by this loss of civilian life and once again call on all parties to the conflict to do their utmost to minimize harm to ordinary Afghans," de Mistura said in the statement referring to Monday's incident.

De Mistura also called on NATO forces to launch an investigation into the incident.

According to UN figures, more than 2,400 civilians were killed in 2009 alone. In February 2010, foreign forces killed five people including three women during a night raid on a family compound outside Gardez in Paktia Province.

The issue of civilian casualties has on occasions provoked tension between the United Nations and US-led foreign troops. In one of the tensest confrontations, the UN condemned the US for conducting an airstrike, which resulted in the loss of 90 civilian lives.

MMN/MMA

German troops killed in Afghanistan

Press TV, Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:21:09 GMT

The German military says at least four of its soldiers, under the US command, have been killed in fierce clashes with Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan.

According to German officials, the troops came under fire when they were travelling from the city of Kunduz to Baghlan.

Military sources say a number of other German soldiers were seriously injured in the fatal incident that sent shock waves through Germany.

The recent casualties bring the total of German deaths in Afghanistan to 43 since Berlin sent troops to the country in 2002.

Germany has about 4,500 soldiers in the relatively peaceful northern Afghanistan, making it the third-largest foreign contingent after the US and the UK.

US President Barack Obama wants Germany to add thousand of more troops and increase its geographical span to include the volatile south and east.

The US and its NATO allies have announced the imminent deployment of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in a bid to end nearly a decade-long conflict there.

JR/AKM