By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
GARDEZ, Afghanistan – Nato forces have once again caused the deaths of Afghan civilians through indiscriminate use of military force. There have been numerous instances of inadvertent killings of civilians by Nato forces. Unintentional violence against innocent non-combatants have claimed the lives of men, women, children, creating much friction between the Aghan nationals and Nato forces.
One of the most recent controversies stems from an incident occurring in February. Nato forces executing a raid operation entered the residence of a civilian family, under the impression that an armed combatant had entered the home. Upon entering the home, the Nato forces encountered two armed men. The Nato foroces proceeded to shoot down the two armed men, but their fire also took the likes of three women. It was only later that Nato confirmed that the two men shot down were not Taliban fighters, but merely civilians who took up arms to protect their family against the reasonably perceived threat of Nato forces. Furthermore, the Nato forces who examined the civilian residence after the discharge of gunfire initially claimed that the women in the home were dead when they got inside, gagged and bound on the floor. This was later discovered to be not true, as the women were bound in preparation for their burial.
Also, it has been reported that Nato admitted to its killings after a claim was made that soldiers had been removing bullets from bodies to obscure the truth of the matter. Successful deception may also have the effect of distorting civilian death count.
The case of the bound women highlights the issue of accuracy in civilian death counts. The UN has reported a respectable decrease in civilian casualties for the year 2009/ However, if it is possible that misconceptions of the circumstances surrounding civilian deaths can be accepted as true for an extended period of time, it seems equally possible that the statistics concerning civilian deaths may be skewed.
In another instance of the battles of Nato forces perpetrating violence against civilians, two children were killed and tow more wounded in an eastern region of Afghanistan. The unreasonable risks to civilians caused by flare-ups between Nato forces and Taliban fighters compelled Nato to place prohibitions on night-raids to reduce harm to civilians. However, if misconceptions and deception concerning civilian deaths persist, the breadth and possibly excessive breadth of civilian casualties may never be truthfully known.
For more information, please see:
Al-Jazeera – Nato admits Afghan civilian resources – 05 April 2010
BBC – Nato investigates new Afghan civilian deaths – 06 April 2010
Christian Science Monitor – Afghan war: Nato under fire… – 05 April 2010
