38ee4542   
   XPost: hfx.general, alt.toronto, bc.general   
   XPost: qc.politique   
   From: dnretfalvi@NO   
      
   it's a shame. many warnings in the region are heeded... Locals are briefed.   
   Sad....   
      
    wrote in message   
   news:1fa5a428-0a68-48ec-bb5c-b9ed238afdb0@d45g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...   
   2 children killed as car nears Canadian convoy   
      
   Jul 28, 2008 03:28 PM   
   Alexander Panetta   
   THE CANADIAN PRESS   
      
   KANDAHAR–Canadian troops have killed a two-year-old boy and his four-   
   year-old sister by opening fire on a car they feared was about to   
   attack their convoy outside Kandahar city, the Canadian Forces   
   announced Monday.   
      
   Facing an urgent decision about what to do when a speeding car failed   
   to heed repeated warnings to pull over, a gunner finally pulled the   
   trigger on the cannon of a light armoured vehicle.   
      
   The 25-millimetre round tore through the little girl's skull and left   
   a gaping wound in her younger brother's chest, witnesses said.   
      
   The children's mother later frantically paced the hallways at the   
   local hospital, shrieking and cursing foreign soldiers between sobs.   
      
   One police officer at the Kandahar city hospital said he saw the   
   mother scream: "My innocent children have been killed by foreigners –   
   for no reason!"   
      
   The father, who was believed to be also a passenger in the vehicle,   
   was being treated for lacerations but left the hospital without   
   permission to attend his children's funeral.   
      
   Another hospital visitor said that if he were the children's father,   
   he would personally strap on a suicide vest and exact vengeance on   
   Canadian troops.   
      
   Shopkeeper Din Mohammad said foreign soldiers had better stop   
   accidentally killing civilians or they will suffer the same fate as   
   the defeated Soviets.   
      
   "They must stop this," said Mohammed, who was visiting his son at   
   Mirwais hospital when he saw the children's lifeless bodies carried   
   in.   
      
   "Otherwise the day will come when everybody will stand up against the   
   foreigners in a holy war – a jihad."   
      
   "It's happened once before (with the Soviets). If things continue like   
   this, history will repeat itself."   
      
   An investigation into Sunday's incident will be conducted by Afghan   
   police and coalition forces.   
      
   A Canadian statement said the round was discharged when the car had   
   come within 10 metres of the convoy.   
      
   "It is with profound sadness that we announce that two Afghan   
   children ... were killed in this incident," said the statement.   
      
   "We deeply regret this incident, and our thoughts are with the   
   families and friends of the deceased during this difficult time."   
      
   "Our soldiers are trained to take all appropriate steps to minimize   
   civilian casualties. However, they must take action to protect   
   themselves when they believe they are being threatened."   
      
   A third occupant of the vehicle was wounded, and the fourth and fifth   
   occupants were not injured.   
      
   Afghan and United Nations officials have pleaded with international   
   troops to avoid causing civilian casualties, which threaten to   
   undermine support for the government and foreign forces.   
      
   The organization Human Rights Watch says at least 300 Afghan civilians   
   were mistakenly killed by the coalition last year, and thousands are   
   believed to have died since 2001.   
      
   Insurgents killed even more civilians – at least 374 – in attacks last   
   year.   
      
   The police officer who saw the children's mother crying in the   
   hospital says the foreigners aren't the only ones to blame for   
   civilian deaths.   
      
   "They're not killing civilians in Kabul. Why is that?" Abdul Karim   
   asked rhetorically. "They don't kill them in Kabul because there is   
   peace there. Here, they are scared."   
      
   The policeman was being treated for injuries from a land-mine   
   explosion.   
      
   Militants regularly use civilian cars loaded with explosives in   
   suicide missions. With a finger constantly on the trigger, gunners on   
   coalition vehicles scan the road for possible threats.   
      
   In cases where coalition forces have fired a split-second too late,   
   soldiers have been killed in suicide explosions. In cases where   
   they've fired too early, innocent people have died – as was the case   
   Sunday.   
      
   Coalition forces run frequent advertising campaigns that warn Afghan   
   locals to keep a safe distance from convoys. In fact, most locals are   
   terrified of getting close to military vehicles.   
      
   Taxi drivers in Kandahar city can be seen waving down their colleagues   
   and shouting at them to avoid certain streets where foreign troops   
   have been spotted.   
      
   Cars generally screech to a halt and pull off the road to let military   
   convoys pass.   
      
   Earlier this month, U.S. forces wiped out an entire wedding party in   
   eastern Afghanistan, killing 47 civilians in an aerial bombing, the   
   Afghan government has said.   
      
   Canada has no aircraft in Afghanistan capable of such attacks from the   
   sky. But Canada has been involved in other civilian killings before.   
      
   In one incident, a 90-year-old man who was a respected political   
   scientist and mentor to President Hamid Karzai was shot when he   
   approached troops on a motorbike.   
      
   In another, a young man riding on a motorbike was shot through the   
   chest and the bullet struck the head and killed his little brother   
   riding behind him.   
      
   http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/468427   
      
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