...

NATO night raids cause rising anger in Afghanistan, report says

Other News Materials 19 September 2011 13:19 (UTC +04:00)
A US-based institute said NATO-led night operations are making the military alliance unpopular in Afghanistan and that "security is at its worst level" since the ousting of Taliban regime in 2001.
NATO night raids cause rising anger in Afghanistan, report says

A US-based institute said NATO-led night operations are making the military alliance unpopular in Afghanistan and that "security is at its worst level" since the ousting of Taliban regime in 2001.

The Open Society Foundations report published Monday said civilians are now exposed to night raids, which is a source for "durable hurt" even if no casualties occur, DPA reported.

"Mass detention operations, holding the entire village for questioning on site for prolonged period of time may violate international prohibitions against indiscriminate detention," it said.

Civilians have accused international forces of "spreading terror" and "creating more violence," the report said.

NATO spokesman General Cartsen Jacobson insisted that night raids are the most successful type of operations for the alliance.

Nearly 130,000 international forces are currently fighting the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan.

Night raids are a major area of contention between international forces and President Hamid Karzai, who is publicly critical of the amount of civilian casualties during the operations.

The UN has also blamed NATO and US forces for causing increasing civilian deaths due with airstrikes and night raids.

Civilian deaths from airstrikes increased 14 per cent during the first six months of the year, a UN report said in July. Civilian deaths from ground combat also increased by 36 per cent.

Tags:
Latest

Latest