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26.05.08, 08:00
Afghans outraged after US Marines cleared
iraqwar.mirror-world.ru/article/165427
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AFP) - Afghans reacted with outrage Saturday after the
US military found Marines had acted appropriately when they opened fire after
an attack last year, killing at least 10 civilians.
The country's top rights body meanwhile reiterated its finding that the troops
had used excessive force in the March 4 incident in Nangarhar and the United
Nations said it was disappointed no one was held accountable.
"I'm deeply outraged over this," Abdul Aziz Khairkhawa, deputy head of the
Nangarhar provincial council, told AFP after the US Marines' announcement Friday.
"People sleeping in their home or walking on the road are being killed and
they say they are innocent. This is not acceptable," he told AFP.
Khairkhawa said the soldiers should have been "strongly punished" and made to
apologise.
The Marines opened fire after a suicide bombing on a patrol that wounded a
soldier. They said it was a "complex attack" involving the bomb and small arms
fire.
The Afghan interior ministry said the troops killed 10 civilians, including
children. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said they had
killed around a dozen civilians and wounded 35.
The commission's deputy head Ahmad Fahim Hakim said its investigation had
shown the soldiers had fired at civilians along a 15-kilometre (10-mile)
stretch of road.
"Six of those killed were hit about six kilometres away from the site of the
incident which shows the excessive use of force by the troops," he said.
A member of the influential religious council in Nangarhar, Qari Nazifullah,
said there was "hard evidence" against the soldiers.
"It's a one-way conclusion," he said, expressing sadness at the finding.
In its reaction, the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan said "it is
disappointing that no one has been held accountable for these deaths."
"The United Nations has always made clear that there must be increased
transparency and accountability of all parties to this conflict if we are to
retain the trust and confidence of the Afghan people," spokesman Aleem
Siddique said.
There are nearly 70,000 international soldiers in Afghanistan to help the
government fight back a Taliban insurgency that makes heavy use of suicide
bombings.
