KABUL — Doctors voiced concern over “unusual” burns on villagers wounded in a controversial U.S.-Taliban battle, and the country’s top human-rights groups said Sunday it is investigating the possibility white phosphorus was used.
The American military denied using the incendiary in the battle in Farah province — which President Hamid Karzai has said killed 125 to 130 civilians — but left open the possibility that Taliban militants did. The U.S. says Taliban fighters have used white phosphorus, a spontaneously flammable material that leaves severe chemical burns, at least four times in the past two years.
“There has been other airstrikes in Farah in the past. We had injuries from those battles, but this is the first time we have seen such burns on the bodies,” said Gul Ahmad Ayubi, the deputy head of Farah’s health department.
Using white phosphorus to illuminate a target or create smoke is considered legitimate under international law, but rights groups say its use over populated areas can indiscriminately burn civilians and constitutes a war crime.
Afghan doctors said they have treated at least 14 patients after last week’s battle who had severe burns the doctors have never seen before.
Allegations that white phosphorus or another chemical may have been used threatens to deepen the controversy over what Afghan officials say could be the worst case of civilian deaths since the 2001 U.S. invasion that ousted the Taliban regime.
In Kabul on Sunday, hundreds of people marched near Kabul University to protest the U.S. military’s role in the deaths.
The incident in Farah drew the condemnation of Karzai, who called for an end to airstrikes. The U.S. has said militants kept villagers captive in hopes they would die in the fighting, creating a civilian casualties controversy.
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U.S. to keep up airstrikes
WASHINGTON — In a blunt rebuff of Afghanistan’s president, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser said Sunday the United States would not end airstrikes there even though they are blamed in the deaths of hundreds of civilians.
Retired Gen. James Jones said on ABC’s “This Week” that the U.S. would continue to make decisions based on the best intelligence available.
He refused to rule out any action because “we can’t fight with one hand tied behind our back.”
The Associated Press
