🚀 go-pugleaf

it's a shame. many warnings in the region are heeded... Locals are briefed. 
Sad....

<fraeauldbobpeffers@gmail.com> 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