UN slams NATO for civilian killings

The UN's envoy to Afghanistan slams US-led NATO forces for killing civilians, calling on them to do their "utmost to minimize harm" to ordinary Afghans.

The United Nations secretary general's special representative to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, said on Thursday that he was "deeply saddened and seriously concerned" about the loss of civilian lives in Afghanistan.

The statement came days after four civilians were killed and 8 others injured by NATO forces in the southern province of Kandahar.

"I am deeply saddened and seriously concerned by this loss of civilian life and once again call on all parties to the conflict to do their utmost to minimize harm to ordinary Afghans," de Mistura said in the statement referring to Monday's incident.

De Mistura also called on NATO forces to launch an investigation into the incident.

According to UN figures, more than 2,400 civilians were killed in 2009 alone. In February 2010, foreign forces killed five people including three women during a night raid on a family compound outside Gardez in Paktia Province.

The issue of civilian casualties has on occasions provoked tension between the United Nations and US-led foreign troops. In one of the tensest confrontations, the UN condemned the US for conducting an airstrike, which resulted in the loss of 90 civilian lives.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123456§ionid=351020403.