U.S. troops accused of killing 4-year-old boy in Afghanistan

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/10/u-s-troops-accused-of-killing-4-year-old-boy-in-afghanistan/



U.S. troops accused of killing 4-year-old boy in Afghanistan
By Agence France-Presse
Friday, January 10, 2014 18:48 EST

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday condemned US troops for killing a four-year-old boy in the southern province of Helmand, in a fresh strain to troubled relations between Washington and Kabul.

Helmand governor Naeem Baloch told Karzai during a meeting in Kabul about the shooting, which comes as the US and Afghanistan wrangle over a deal to allow some US troops to remain in the country after this year.

The US-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan issued a statement expressing “deepest sympathies to the family who suffered the loss of a loved one” in the incident on Wednesday and vowing to investigate “what happened and why”.

Relations between Washington and Kabul have been poor for years, and negotiations over the bilateral security agreement (BSA) have erupted into a long-running public dispute.

[unhappycamper]

1. More:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/01/10

President Karzai calls for 'absolute end' to US/NATO military operations on homes and villages

US Marines Shoot and Kill Four-Year-Old Afghan Boy
- Jon Queally, staff writer
Published on Friday, January 10, 2014 by Common Dreams

Blaming "poor visibility"—not more than twelve years of a war without cause or purpose—Afghan officials say that U.S. Marines stationed in Helmand Province have shot and killed a four year old boy.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a news conference in Kabul December 8, 2012. (REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail) "As the weather was dusty, the marine forces based there thought he was an enemy and opened fire. As result of mistaken fire, he was killed," Omar Zwak, spokesman for the governor of the southern province of Helmand, told Reuters.

In response, the Karzai government has called for an unilateral suspension of U.S./Nato military operations taking place in homes and villages.

"We have called ... for an absolute end to ISAF/NATO military operations on homes and villages in order to avoid such killings where innocent children or civilians are the victims," said presidential spokesman, Aimal Faizi, referring to the latest killing of an Afghan child.