Kabul - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday his
relations with international forces backing his government have been
strained because of the killing of civilians by the foreign troops
and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Karzai made the remarks during a visit to a village where more
than 90 civilians were reported killed in a US air raid on August 22.
He traveled to Azizabad village in Shindand district in the
western province of Herat on Thursday morning and met with families
of the victims who were killed in a US-led coalition air raid, the
presidential palace said in a statement.
The US military insisted that its operation, which was jointly
conducted with Afghan commandos in the area, left 30-35 militants and
up to seven civilians dead.
But an investigation team assigned by the Afghan government found
that more than 90 civilians, including 60 children, were killed in
the eight-hour aerial bombardment. A separate probe by UN officials
confirmed the Afghan government's figures.
'After the bombardments, in which 90 civilian were killed, our
relations have been strained with the foreigners,' Karzai was quoted
in the statement as saying.
'It has been five years that I have been working days and nights
to avoid such incidents, but we have not been successful, if we were
successful, today the sons of Azizabad would not be drowned in their
blood,' Karzai said.
The president also assured the villagers that the 'perpetrators of
the incident will be brought to justice and will be punished.'
Karzai talked to US President George W Bush by videoconference on
Wednesday and Bush expressed his sorrow and sympathy over the
Shindand incident, a separate presidential palace statement said.
'During this conversation, both presidents discussed ways of
preventing civilian casualties,' the statement said.
The Shindand incident angered the Afghan public and prompted
Karzai to fire two Afghan army commanders in the western region,
while his cabinet ordered a review of the status of foreign forces in
the country.
Following the contradictory findings by the Afghan and US military
officials, the top US commander in Afghanistan, General David
McKiernan, who commands the 53,000-strong NATO-led force in the
country, suggested a joint probe into the incident.
The joint investigation, which was also approved by the Afghan
government, would be conducted by the US military, the UN and Afghan
government officials.
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