Karzai rejects US apology for killing children

Kabul, Mar 7: Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan has rejected an apology tendered by the USA for mistakenly killing nine Afghan children. He is reported to have said that civilian casualties are no longer acceptable.

In an air-raid conducted by the US-led NATO forces on Mar 1, nine Afghan boys were killed. This had prompted, Barack Obama, the President of the USA to express regrets over the unintentional killing.

Nato has already apologised for the incident.

In the statement released by Karzai's office, it is stated, "President Karzai said that only regret is not sufficient and also mentioned that civilian casualties during military operations by coalition forces is the main reason for tension in relations between Afghanistan and United States..It is not acceptable for the Afghan people anymore. Regrets and condemnations of the incident cannot heal the wounds of the people."

The statement further added, "President Karzai said that repetition of such incidents would affect relations and the environment of trust between us. The continuation of such incidents is not tolerable and not acceptable for the Afghan people and government."

In recent times, civil casualties have increased manifold, complain Afghan officials and citizens. A minimum of four incidents of civil casualties in eastern Afghanistan have been reported in the last two weeks of Feb 2011.

Karzai, is also said to have lodged his protest with David Petraeus, the top commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan and asked him to do more to avoid a repeat of such incidents.

OneIndia News