Afghanistan

Karzai sacks general after village killings, French review deadly ambush

Article published on the 2008-08-24 Latest update 2008-08-24 13:36 TU

Demonstrations in Azizabad on Saturday
(Photo: Reuters)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has fired General Jalandar Shah Behnam, the head of the army in the west of the country, and the minister in charge of an official investigation says that more than 90 civilians died in Firday's attack on a village. France's leading general with the Nato force in Afghanistan says that there will be a review of Monday's ambush in which ten French soldiers died.

"We went to the area and found out that the bombardment was very heavy, lots of houses have been destroyed and more than 90 non-combatants including women, children and elders have died," Minister of Hajj and Islamic Affairs Nematullah Shahrani told the French news agency AFP.

"Most are women and children," he added.

Shahrani says that Afghan and US-led forces involved in an anti-Taliban operation in the area failed to co-ordinate their actions when air-strikes were called in.

International forces say that only 30 people died and that they were all armed fighters.

Karzai, who sent Shahrani to investigate after protests in Azizabad near the western city of Herat, has sacked General Behnam and commando commander Major Abdul Jabar and ordered them to come to Kabul for an investigation.

The top French general with Nato forces in Afghanistan, General Michel Stollsteiner, says that his forces were "misled by too much trust" in the operation on Monday which cost ten of his soldiers' lives.

Stollsteiner commands the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) central region, which comprises Kabul and the surrounding area including Sarobi where the troops were ambushed.

He told reporters in Kabul on Sunday that villagers had told the troops that only a small area was unsafe to enter.

The incident, which saw the troops involved in fighting for several hours, has stirred up a heated debate in France over involvement in Afghanistan.

Stollsteiner pledged to increase the use of intelligence gathering before operations and said that a review of the incident will be conducted and forwarded to the French top brass.

The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, is expected in Kabul next week.