SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Hundreds Protest NATO Bombing that Allegedly Killed Afghan Civilians
Air strike follows weekend march in Kabul against ongoing U.S.-led occupation
Oct 14, 2014
Hundreds of villagers in the Afghan province of Paktia staged protests on Monday following a NATO bombing on Sunday, which witnesses say struck civilians--killing seven of them, including a child, and wounding one.
The protesters brought seven dead bodies from the Udkey area of Gardez city to the capital of the province, according to Abdul Wali Sahi, deputy governor of the province.
"The local villagers claim that they were collecting firewood on a mountainside when they were hit by the airstrike. As you can see, there are children among the dead bodies," Sahi told media outlets. "The Afghan nation is tired of such killings. We are going to seriously investigate this incident, and we strongly condemn such a killing, and whoever committed this crime must be held accountable for their action."
Lt. Col. David Olson, a spokesperson for NATO, promptly confirmed a "precision strike" but claimed that only "enemy" combatants were killed. Officials presented no evidence to back this claim.
A report published in July by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan found that civilian deaths and injuries as a result of fighting have steadily increased since 2012. Between January 1 to June 30, 2014, approximately 4,853 civilians were killed, marking a 24 percent increase over the same months in 2013.
NATO's bombings on Sunday followed a Saturday march in Kabul protesting the U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan, which was locked in for another decade by the recent signing of the bilateral security agreement. The protesters also expressed support for the people of Kobane resisting siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Hundreds of villagers in the Afghan province of Paktia staged protests on Monday following a NATO bombing on Sunday, which witnesses say struck civilians--killing seven of them, including a child, and wounding one.
The protesters brought seven dead bodies from the Udkey area of Gardez city to the capital of the province, according to Abdul Wali Sahi, deputy governor of the province.
"The local villagers claim that they were collecting firewood on a mountainside when they were hit by the airstrike. As you can see, there are children among the dead bodies," Sahi told media outlets. "The Afghan nation is tired of such killings. We are going to seriously investigate this incident, and we strongly condemn such a killing, and whoever committed this crime must be held accountable for their action."
Lt. Col. David Olson, a spokesperson for NATO, promptly confirmed a "precision strike" but claimed that only "enemy" combatants were killed. Officials presented no evidence to back this claim.
A report published in July by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan found that civilian deaths and injuries as a result of fighting have steadily increased since 2012. Between January 1 to June 30, 2014, approximately 4,853 civilians were killed, marking a 24 percent increase over the same months in 2013.
NATO's bombings on Sunday followed a Saturday march in Kabul protesting the U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan, which was locked in for another decade by the recent signing of the bilateral security agreement. The protesters also expressed support for the people of Kobane resisting siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Hundreds of villagers in the Afghan province of Paktia staged protests on Monday following a NATO bombing on Sunday, which witnesses say struck civilians--killing seven of them, including a child, and wounding one.
The protesters brought seven dead bodies from the Udkey area of Gardez city to the capital of the province, according to Abdul Wali Sahi, deputy governor of the province.
"The local villagers claim that they were collecting firewood on a mountainside when they were hit by the airstrike. As you can see, there are children among the dead bodies," Sahi told media outlets. "The Afghan nation is tired of such killings. We are going to seriously investigate this incident, and we strongly condemn such a killing, and whoever committed this crime must be held accountable for their action."
Lt. Col. David Olson, a spokesperson for NATO, promptly confirmed a "precision strike" but claimed that only "enemy" combatants were killed. Officials presented no evidence to back this claim.
A report published in July by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan found that civilian deaths and injuries as a result of fighting have steadily increased since 2012. Between January 1 to June 30, 2014, approximately 4,853 civilians were killed, marking a 24 percent increase over the same months in 2013.
NATO's bombings on Sunday followed a Saturday march in Kabul protesting the U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan, which was locked in for another decade by the recent signing of the bilateral security agreement. The protesters also expressed support for the people of Kobane resisting siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.