Two recent news reports update the story about a May 4-5 battle and airstrike in the village of Garani in the Bala Baluk district of Afghanistan. Afghan and Red Cross estimates were that at least 140 civilians died, including women and children. The U.S. military disputed those numbers and conducted its own investigation.
PeacePundit commented previously on that incident and on the US military’s general approach to subduing the Taliban, and provided a timeline of events, each supported by a news report. The two new reports have been added to the previous post’s timeline. [See previous post]
For readers’ convenience, here are excerpts from the two new reports.
US Ambassador to Afghanistan makes pledge
by Fisnik Abrashi, Rahim Faiez, Associated Press, Wednesday, May 20, 2009
America’s new ambassador sat cross-legged inside a mosque in western Afghanistan during a memorial service and told relatives of the victims of a recent clash between American troops and Taliban that the United States would work to avoid civilian casualties.
The Afghan government, which contends such killings undermine support for the campaign against the militants, says 140 civilians died in the battle. The United States disputes that toll.
Karl Eikenberry’s first public appearance as America’s top man in Afghanistan alongside President Hamid Karzai seemed to be an attempt to soothe tension over the May 4-5 battle in the western Farah province’s Bala Buluk district.
Addressing victims families and others at the main mosque in Farah city, Eikenberry, a former U.S. general who served twice in Afghanistan, invoked his military honor to assure them that he meant what he said.
“I assure the people of Afghanistan that the United States will work tirelessly with your government, army, and police, to find ways to reduce the price paid by civilians and avoid tragedies like what occurred in Bala Buluk,” Eikenberry said, … “As U.S. Ambassador, and with my previous experience as a soldier, I make this a solemn pledge,” he told the gathering.
Karzai … says civilian deaths at the hands of foreign troops erode support for the fight against the Taliban, …
On Tuesday, Karzai urged America to distinguish between villagers and militants.
“All those people who wear a turban and have local clothes are not Taliban,” Karzai told the gathering. U.S. troops “should cut down bombardment on them,” he said.
The U.S. military disputes the government’s toll of civilians killed in the bombing raids, saying the Taliban held villagers hostage and fought from private homes. However, they have not given their own estimate of people killed.
…
Dispute over Afghan civilian deaths intensifies
by Laura King, Los Angeles Times, Thursday, May 21, 2009
Kabul, Afghanistan — Disagreement over the civilian death toll in a battle earlier this month in western Afghanistan sharpened Wednesday when the U.S. military estimated that 20 to 30 noncombatants were killed in the fighting. Afghan officials say 140 civilians were killed.
Civilian deaths have for months been a major source of friction between Western forces and their Afghan allies, and the incident in the village of Garani, in Farah province – the deadliest of its kind since the U.S.-led invasion of 2001, if the Afghan figures are borne out – has triggered a huge outcry in the country.
…
Besides differing over the number of civilians killed in Garani, Afghan and U.S. authorities have offered widely varying estimates of the number of insurgents slain in fighting on May 4. The preliminary American probe suggested that as many as 65 Taliban militants were killed. The Afghan number was considerably lower: about 25.
Wednesday’s statement … represented the first official U.S. estimate of the civilian toll in the fighting in Garani. …
