HERAT — More than 90 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in air strikes by the NATO-led foreign forces on Shindand district in western Heart province, an official investigation has found.
"We went to the area and found out that the bombardment was very heavy," Afghan Minister of Hajj and Islamic Affairs Nematullah Shahrani told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday, August 24.
"Lots of houses have been destroyed and more than 90 non-combatants, including women, children and elders have died," he added.
"Most are women and children."
The foreign forces had claimed that only 30 Taliban fighters were killed in Friday’s strikes.
"They have claimed that Taliban were there. They must prove it," said Shahrani.
Hundreds of civilians demonstrated in Shindand on Saturday, demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
Carrying banners reading "Death to America", they torched a police van and overturned a delivery truck in the area.
Friday’s civilian death toll is one of the highest since US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and toppled the Taliban regime.
Nearly 255 civilians have been killed in the first six months of this year by Afghan forces and US led troops.
Last July, around 50 civilians were killed by foreign forces while gathering for a wedding in eastern Afghanistan.
Resentment
Afghanistan’s top rights group blamed the West-backed government of Hamid Karzai for the rising civilian killings by foreign forces.
"The Afghan government has frequently emphasized not harming civilians but unfortunately it has not been listened to very well," Hossain Ali Ramoz, director of the independent Human Rights Commission, told AFP.
"The concern is that the government and international community will lose the credibility of the Afghan people."
Resentment has been simmering over the aggressive practices of the foreign troops.
To ease the growing public anger, Karzai fired two top Afghan army commanders Sunday over the Shindand killings.
General Jalandar Shah Behnam, head of the corps for western Afghanistan, and commando Major Abdul Jabar were fired for "negligence and concealing facts," said a presidential statement.
Analysts have repeatedly warned that the indiscriminate killing of civilians is turning ordinary Afghans against foreign troops and eroding fragile public support for Karzai’s government, already under fire for rampant corruption, growing insecurity and lack of economic development.