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KABUL: In reaction against the civilian’s casualties in US air strikes on drug labs in Afghanistan, the Moscow foreign ministry has called on Washington to carefully investigate the incident and those involved on it.
The ministry said in a statement that the US should take comprehensive measures to prevent further casualties on civilians
“While recognising the importance of fighting drug production in Afghanistan, we believe that this must not be done at the cost of civilian lives,” added the statement.
Referring to the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo’s recent statement regarding the International Criminal Court attempts to resume proceeding against US military personnel for their crimes against civilians in Afghanistan, the statement said that the sense of impunity encouraged by such statement would not help in persevering of humanitarian law.
“We call on the involved parties, including the international coalition, to take comprehensive measures to prevent civilian deaths in Afghanistan,” the statement added.
On 9th October a U.N. report released has criticized American airstirkes earlier this year against alleged drug facilities in Afghanistan, saying they were unlawful and caused significant civilian casualties.
The report, released simultaneously in Kabul and Geneva, said the U.N. verified 39 civilian casualties, including 14 children and a woman, from multiple airstrikes in May on more than 60 sites.
The locations were identified by U.S. and Afghan forces as drug-production facilities in Bakwa district in western Farah province and in neighboring Delaram district in Nimroz province.
The U.S. military promptly disputed the U.N. findings, finding fault with the report’s verification methods and denying there were civilians among the dead.
However, the U.N. had sent fact-finding missions to the site, together with Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission, and they interviewed dozens of people, both survivors and respected elders.
