Civilian killings-atrocities by U.S. forces in Afghanistan taken lightly by United Nations

The universally-accepted principle, reiterated frequently by the U.S. State Department; European Union; global human rights organizations and those who preside over them, is – when faced with separatism/terrorism/insurrections within a sovereign territory – legitimate governments and their security forces should adhere to the internationally-accepted human rights practices.

Internationally, governments are held responsible for the breach of globally-accepted norms and standards that are spelled out very clearly in United Nations covenants because the legitimate regimes are signatories to them.

The same accountability is not expected of separatist/terrorist-insurgent groups that are fighting their governments for various reasons. Their excesses are only mentioned as passing remarks in State Department documents and reports one of which is the annual Reports on Human Rights Practices, and in other reports periodically released by the U.S. agencies and global rights organizations.

Separatist/terrorists/insurgents are aware that they can breach these globally recognized and accepted standards with impunity as no Western power, especially the United States who sit in judgments of human right practices of legitimate governments, has direct influence or control over these clandestine organizations to bring them forward for accountability.

Now, where do the leading Western powers such as the United States fit in to the ‘accountability test’ the ‘test’ these western powers tie it with the economic assistance/aid to the Third World developing nations?

One Western nation, the United States, is presently culpable of enormous amount of civilian deaths inflicted by its Special Operations Forces combating the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

It should be stated here that the combatants associated with the Taliban insurgent movement have inflicted more serious damage to the civilian lives as noted by the most recent UN survey. But then, Taliban is not the legitimate government in Afghanistan and that no accountability goes with what Taliban does in this war-ravaged nation.

Same was when the Tamil Tigers or the LTTE was waging a separatist war in Sri Lanka. LTTE atrocities were noted in U.S. State Department documents but the U.S. held the Government accountable and responsible because it was the legitimate ruler and the signatory to covenants of the United Nations.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in conjunction with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 13 January called on all sides of Afghanistan’s conflict to uphold their obligations under international law and minimize the impact of fighting on civilians.

New statistics released by the UN mission showed that 2009 proved to be the deadliest year yet for civilians since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.

The UN mission recorded 2,412 civilian casualties during 2009, up by 14 per cent from 2008 when the mission recorded 2,118 civilian deaths. Of the 2,412 deaths reported last year, 1,630 (67%) were attributed to anti-Government elements while 596 (25%) were attributed to pro-Government forces. The remaining 186 deaths (8%) could not be attributed to any of the conflicting parties as they died as a result of cross fire or by unexploded ordinance.

Critics, including Afghan officials, human rights workers and some field commanders of conventional American forces, say that (US) Special Operations forces have been responsible for a large number of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan and operate by their own rules.

Three recent high profile cases of civilian casualties illustrate the concern over (US) Special Operations forces were highlighted by a recent New York Times report.

Here are the gruesome incidents of deliberate civilian deaths either under the watch of U.S. Special Operations Forces or directly by them:

(1) On Feb. 21 in Oruzgan Province, a small Special Operations forces unit heard that a group of Taliban were heading their way and called for air support. Attack helicopters killed 27 civilians in three trucks, mistaking them for the Taliban.

Military video appeared to show the victims were civilians, and no weapons were recovered from them. “What I saw on that video would not have led me to pull the trigger,” one NATO official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with his department’s rules. “It was one of the worst things I’ve seen in a while.”

General McChrystal promptly apologized for the Oruzgan episode, both directly to Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, and in a videotaped statement released to local television stations.

(2) On Feb. 12 in a village near Gardez, in Paktia Province, Afghan police special forces paired with American Special Operations forces raided a house late at night looking for two Taliban suspects, and instead killed a local police chief and a district prosecutor when they came out, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, to investigate. Three women who came to their aid, according to interviews with family members and friends, were also killed; one was a pregnant mother of 10, the other a pregnant mother of 6.

A press release from the International Security Assistance Force, as NATO’s force here is known, said at first that the three women had been discovered bound and gagged, apparently killed execution style. NATO officials now say their bodies were wrapped in traditional manner before burial. Admiral Smith said Afghan forces fired the shots in the compound.

Interviews with relatives and family friends give a starkly different account and described an American cover-up. They say a large number of people had gathered for a party in honor of the birth of a grandson of the owner of the house, Hajji Sharaf Udin. After most had gone to sleep, the police commander, Mr. Udin’s son, Mohammed Daoud, went out to investigate the arrival of armed men and was shot fatally.

When a second son, Mohammed Zahir, went out to talk to the Americans because he spoke some English, he too was shot and killed. The three women — Mr. Udin’s 19-year-old granddaughter, Gulalai; his 37-year-old daughter, Saleha, the mother of 10 children; and his daughter-in-law, Shirin, the mother of six — were all gunned down when they tried to help the victims, these witnesses claimed.

All the survivors interviewed insisted that Americans, who they said were not in uniform, conducted the raid and the killings, and entered the compound before Afghan forces. Among the witnesses was Sayid Mohammed Mal, vice chancellor of Gardez University, whose son’s fiancée, Gulalai, was killed. “They were killed by the Americans,” he said. “If the government doesn’t listen to us, I have 50 family members, I’ll bring them all to Gardez roundabout and we’ll pour petrol on ourselves and burn ourselves to death.”

(3) On Dec. 26 in Kunar Province, a night raid was launched on what authorities thought was a Taliban training facility; they later discovered that they had killed all nine religious students in a residential school. Admiral Smith said United States Special Operations forces were nearby at the time, but not directly involved in the attack, which was carried out by an Afghan unit.

Admiral Smith confirmed that all three events, which took place outside of any larger battle, involved Special Operations forces. But he said that General McChrystal’s unified command initiative was not in response to those events.

The New York Times says Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, has brought most American Special Operations forces under his direct control for the first time, out of concern over continued civilian casualties and disorganization among units in the field.

But the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its report on protection of civilians for 2009 “These forces often operate with little or no accountability and exacerbate the anger and resentment felt by communities.”

Apart from making comments in the reports does the United States face the “accountability test” the other Third World nations face?

- Asian Tribune -