As Afghan Civilians Die in Airstrikes, Obama Celebrates America’s Role in “Spreading Peace and Democracy”
by DroneWar.wordpress.com
See the video reporting allegations of over a hundred deaths in the last 24 hours:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/12/23/391493/us-strike-kills-dozens-in-afghanistan/
23rd December: Press TV reports that dozens of people have been killed in airstrikes carried out by US-led forces in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar. Washington claims the targets of its airstrikes are militants, but local officials and witnesses maintain that civilians have been the main victims of such airstrikes over the past few years.
US forces ‘mistakenly bombarded a house’
26th December: Agence France Presse reports from Afghanistan: Afghan officials said that a NATO airstrike Friday killed five civilians and wounded six others. District governor Mohammad Amin said, “At around 3:30 a.m., U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Aab Josh village of Baraki Barak district. The airstrike hit a residential house killing five and wounding six civilians.” Niaz Mohammad Amiri, Logar province’s acting governor, added, “U.S. forces were chasing down Taliban militants, but mistakenly bombarded a house. As a result, civilians were victims of the attack”.
Civilians protecting their land from nomads are killed
Associated Press reports another airstrike by US-led coalition forces on Friday which killed three Afghan villagers who were “heavily armed” but not part of the Taliban insurgency. The governor of eastern Logar province, Neyaz Mohammad Amiri, said the coalition told local authorities that the dead were Taliban insurgents, but villagers in the remote Ab Josh area disputed that claim, saying the dead were civilians who were protecting their land from nomads. Afghan security forces had been deployed to Ab Josh two days ago to mediate a clash between the villagers and Kuchi nomads, who have a reputation for violence and are often armed with machine guns and heavier weapons.
Meanwhile at an oceanfront Marine Corps base in Hawaii, President Barack Obama marked the end of more than a decade of combat in Afghanistan by paying tribute to America’s military, telling troops on Christmas Day that their sacrifices have allowed for a more peaceful, prosperous world to emerge out of the ashes of 9/11.
