Karzai says Afghans lose patience over killings

KABUL, May 2 (Reuters) President Hamid Karzai warned today that Afghan patience was wearing thin over the killing of civilians by Western forces hunting Taliban guerrillas, saying further deaths would lead to bad consequences.

Nearly 60 civilians have been killed in raids by US-led troops in the past week, Afghan officials say, sparking four days so far of anti-American, anti-Karzai protests.

''We can no longer accept civilian casualties. It is becoming a heavy burden,'' Karzai told reporters at his heavily fortified palace in the capital, Kabul, when asked about the killings.

''It has become too hard for us.'' Protesters have called for the removal of Karzai for failing to stop the killings, which are an increasingly sensitive issue in the face of an upsurge in Taliban attacks.

A former government minister, Hamidullah Tarzi, said the current small protests were not yet a major problem for Karzai, but they would become more serious if killings continued.

Karzai said he had repeatedly told US and NATO commanders to coordinate their anti-Taliban raids with his government, stop searching civilian houses and take care to avoid civilian deaths.

''Unfortunately, that cooperation and coordination as we tried it has not given us the result of what we want,'' Karzai said, adding that the Afghan people's tolerance was being tested.

''That is something that must be changed, must be corrected or the consequences will be bad for all of us.'' NO FAITH IN FOREIGN TROOPS Protests over civilian deaths come in a crunch year for both the Western troops and the Taliban insurgents they are hunting, as both sides seek a decisive advantage.

Karzai also faces rising frustration over the lack of development and rampant corruption since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001. Some senior government colleagues are seeking to curb his powers by creating a new position of prime minister.

About 2,000 protesting students blocked a main highway between Kabul and Pakistan in the eastern province of Nangarhar today, angered by the second killing of civilians in the area by US-led coalition troops in less than two months.

Up to six civilians were killed there on Sunday, Afghan officials say, although the US military said only two civilians were killed after they were caught in crossfire.

The students burned and stamped on US flags and chanted ''Death to America'', calling on foreign troops to leave at once.

Protests have also taken place in Herat province, near the Iranian border, where U.S.-led forces had killed 51 civilians, including 18 women, in recent days, a police official said.

A spokeswoman for Herat's governor said 1,600 families had fled their homes to escape bombing by coalition troops and were being cared for by the Red Cross.

US officials were working with the government to determine what had happened in Herat, a US military spokeswoman said.

DANGEROUS TREND While the protests had not drawn large numbers, ex-minister Tarzi said coalition forces had lost the sympathy of the people.

''Now that has been eroded and that is not a good sign. That may have future repercussions,'' he told Reuters.

''If the trend continues and there are further incidents, then I think that is something to worry about.'' Thousands of civilians have been killed since US-led troops ousted the Taliban government for sheltering al Qaeda leaders.

The violence has not eased. More than 4,000 people, including 1,000 civilians, were killed in 2006 and scores more have died this year, mostly in suicide bombings and other Taliban attacks.

Separately, the governor of the southern province of Kandahar said civilians were among 13 killed by NATO and Afghan forces in an attack on a convoy that included some Taliban yesterday.

And NATO forces have launched an operation in Helmand province, the key-drug producing region of Afghanistan and the Taliban heartland.

REUTERS RS RAI2052