Wednesday, September 19, 2007

US forces and Taliban - reading from the same page?

Compare and contrast, as a high school english exam might say:

Taliban Accused of Using Kids As Shields

KABUL (Associated Press) - The U.S.-led coalition accused the Taliban of using children as human shields during a battle in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, while NATO said it was investigating a shipment of weapons intercepted near the border with Iran this month.

The fighting in Uruzgan province began when more than 20 insurgents armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars attacked a joint Afghan and coalition patrol Wednesday morning, the coalition said in a statement.

As a coalition aircraft prepared to bomb the site, "coalition forces as well as the aircraft identified several insurgents in one compound using children as human shields," it said. Ground forces and the aircraft withheld fire to avoid injuring the children. It was impossible to independently verify the coalition allegations. ... (Sept 19/07 - link)
AFGHANISTAN: Call for USA to move bases away from civilian areas

US forces say they help Afghan army and police improve security in Kunar Province
ASADABAD, 12 September 2007 (IRIN) ...

... [T]he spokesman said mounting pressure by local people had led the provincial authorities to ask the US army to move those of its bases which happened to be near civilian areas.

According to the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law, “each party to the conflict must, to the extent feasible, avoid locating military facilities within or near densely populated areas.”

All parties are also legally bound to distinguish between military and non-military installations and avoid attacks which may harm civilians or their property. ... (link)

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