Vol. 72/No. 35      September 8, 2008

But an investigation of the deaths by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan found that 90 civilians were killed—60 children, 15 women, and 15 men.

While initially insisting that only al-Qaeda and Taliban forces were killed, Washington said August 26 that five civilians also died. Dismissing the civilian deaths, U.S. Lieutenant Nathan Perry said, “We believe those to be family members of the targeted militant Mullah Sadiq.”

U.S.-led “coalition” forces and Afghan National Army commandos carried out the August 22 raid in the district of Azizabad, where dozens of villagers were assembled for a memorial honoring a villager who was killed last year. Local officials told the Washington Post there was no warning prior to the attack.

Under increasing pressure to address the rising number of civilian casualties resulting from operations like this, Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai dismissed two senior Afghan army officers involved in the Azizabad operation. The Afghan Council of Ministers announced August 25 that it would review current agreements with the occupation forces to facilitate better coordination during operations.

At the same time, Karzai’s top aide assured reporters that his government would not demand the occupation troops leave. “We need the foreign forces until our own military institutions are able to defend Afghanistan,” said Homayan Hamidzada. There are now nearly 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.

More than 3,400 people in Afghanistan have been killed in the fighting so far this year. Afghan and coalition officials claim most of them are Islamist insurgents.

Karzai has repeatedly warned the imperialists that civilian casualties are undermining their operations, and has called on the U.S.-led forces to instead focus on fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan. “The war against terrorism is elsewhere, and that’s where the war should go,” he said in April, according to the International Herald Tribune.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s five-month-old coalition government broke apart August 25 when Nawaz Sharif, the main leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, left the coalition along with other members of his party. Sharif withdrew following the announcement by Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zardari that he would run for president to replace Pervez Musharraf, who was forced out of office under threat of impeachment.

Zardari, who has emerged as the main political figure since Musharraf’s resignation, has made a series of gestures to demonstrate his resolve to fight Islamist forces. In a BBC interview August 24, Zardari said the Tehrik-i-Taliban, an umbrella group of the Taliban in Pakistan, should be banned. The following day the group was placed on the Interior Ministry list of banned organizations.  
 
 
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