Britain says payouts for Afghan civilian deaths treble

British PM warns of 'difficult' times in Afghanistan
Halifax, Canada (AFP) June 24, 2010 - Prime Minister David Cameron lamented Thursday the "tragic" deaths of four British soldiers in a road crash in Afghanistan, and warned of difficult times ahead in the country. But speaking en route to Canada for G8 and G20 summits, he vowed that Britain will stay the course in Afghanistan, and only begin pulling out when Afghans can take care of their own security. "We're paying a very high price for what we're doing in Afghanistan," he told reporters on board his plane, which made a stopover in Halifax, Nova Scotia while en route for Toronto. "But we are absolutely committed to making sure that we build up Afghans' security so they can take responsibility for their country's security and we can come home," he added. Cameron was speaking after four British soldiers died in a vehicle crash in southern Afghanistan, only days after Britain passed the grim milestone of 300 deaths.

Three soldiers from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment and one from 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment died in the accident near Gereshk in Helmand province on Wednesday evening. Cameron, calling the deaths a "completely tragic case," said: "There is no doubt that we have had a difficult few weeks in terms of casualties, and it will be a difficult summer. "We're paying a high price, no doubt about it. "But we would be in a worse situation if we were just to change track now, pull our forces out, and to see a country that is seeing a bit more stability track backwards into instability and support for terror." The four British deaths made June the deadliest single month for US-led foreign forces in the nearly nine-year conflict, according to an AFP tally. They took the British death toll since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan to 307 -- three days after it passed the landmark of 300 dead on Monday.

by Staff Writers
London (AFP) June 24, 2010
Britain paid compensation for the deaths of more than 100 Afghan civilians last year, around three times the amount handed out in 2008, Ministry of Defence (MoD) records showed Thursday.

Thousands of pounds paid to people who were killed or injured in error by British forces fighting in the war-torn country were revealed in response to a request under Freedom of Information laws made by Channel 4 television news.

Military records revealed compensation was paid to relatives of at least 105 Afghan civilians killed in error by British forces in 2009, compared to 33 such payouts the previous year.

In one incident, eight people were killed last December, including four relatives of Sufi Abdullah from Babaji, in southern Helmand Province, the news channel reported.

He told Channel 4 he and his two sons and two brothers had been sitting by a river, and just moments after he left the group a rocket struck.

"When I turned I saw that my son and brother were lying on the ground, unconscious and covered in blood," he said.

Speaking through a translator in Afghan capital Kabul, he produced documents from the British army in which they agreed to pay him in February a total of around 32,000 dollars (21,400 pounds, 25,900 euros) in compensation after the four deaths.

Britain's defence ministry told Channel 4 that British troops had believed they had identified insurgents who were laying a homemade bomb in the area, and a missile was fired.

But a later investigation showed civilians were hit, said defence officials. It added the investigation found British troops acted within their rules of engagement.

The MoD said any incident involving civilian casualties was "a matter of deep regret."

"We have strict procedures intended to minimise the risk of civilian casualties and to investigate any that occur," it said in a statement.

It added that "insurgents often target civilians with their indiscriminate attacks and operate from densely populated areas in order to deliberately draw civilians into the battle."

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