Author Topic: US, NATO shootings of Afghans on rise  (Read 3373 times)

nestopwar

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US, NATO shootings of Afghans on rise
« on: May 10, 2010, 06:03:09 PM »
US, NATO shootings of Afghans on rise
Press TV

Mon, 10 May 2010 01:07:33 GMT

   Casualties among civilians at military checkpoints in Afghanistan have soared radically this year, forcing commanders to reassess their instructions to troops.

The sharp rise in shootings of Afghan civilians by American and NATO convoys at military checkpoints has been blamed for combined civilian deaths and injuries by Western forces, The New York Times reports citing American officials.

The revelation comes as many military commanders within NATO and the US military have dubbed the dramatic spike as "escalation of force incidents."

However, they have issued new troop guidelines in an apparent bid to avoid the upward trend. More emphasis has now been placed on the need to consult local villagers, tribal leaders and elders in an effort to prevent shootings at checkpoints.

Meanwhile, US Army Lieutenant General David Rodriguez, the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Afghanistan described shootings at checkpoints as the major reason for civilian killings, adding that "we've really got to figure out how to solve that problem, and it's really a challenge to the leadership. It's a challenge to discipline."

He also claimed that casualties from aerial bombings have dropped.

According to the Times, checkpoint shootings in Afghanistan this year has left at least 28 people dead and 43 wounded, which amounts to 42 percent of total civilian deaths and injuries at the hands of American and NATO forces.

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