President Karzai Summons the Commander
of the Coalition Forces in Afghanistan for an Explanation about
the Kandahar Incident
Office of the Spokesman to the President
05/24/2006
Arg, Kabul - H.E. Hamid Karzai, President
of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, summoned Lieutenant
General Karl Eikenberry, Commander of the Coalition Forces in
Afghanistan, to his office for an explanation about the incident
in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province this morning.
General Eikenberry gave the President a full account
of the incident in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province
and said “Last Sunday, the terrorists had taken up position
in a village in Panjwayi district of Kandahar at midnight and
began moving out of the village in a queue to carry out terrorist
activities.”
“The Coalition Forces knew the terrorists
were there, but did not take action to avoid civilian casualties.
When the terrorists moved some distance away from the village,
the Coalition Forces launched a military operation against them.”
“During the operation, our helicopters opened
fire on the terrorists. The terrorists dispersed and fled into
a nearby village and broke into people’s homes. The Coalition
Forces entered the area to control the situation and secure
the area. As soon as our forces entered the area, the terrorists
began heavy arms fire on them.”
According to General Eikenberry, unfortunately,
during the mopping up operation there were some civilian casualties
as well. We provided emergency medical assistance to the injured.
The President expressed his deep regret at the
unfortunate death of innocent civilians and said “While
the people of Afghanistan stand firmly with the international
community in their effort to defeat terrorism, but it must be
ensured that civilians are not affected during the operations.”
The President emphasized that civilians’
safety is a top priority for the Government of Afghanistan and
every effort should be made to ensure their safety in any circumstance.
The terrorists use people’s homes as a shield
to hide themselves during anti-terrorist operations as a tactic
and on the other hand they endanger civilians’ lives for
their propaganda.
The President called on the noble and devout people
of Afghanistan to resist the terrorists and not to allow them
to use their homes as a shield and for other purposes.
