Afghanistan, April 12: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned NATO troops for opening fire on a bus, following an incident in which four civilians were killed near the southern city of Kandahar.
The president’s office said he “strongly condemned” the shooting and added: “Opening fire on a passenger bus is against NATO’s commitment to protecting civilians and is by no means justifiable.”
Four civilians were killed and 18 wounded Monday when NATO troops fired on a bus in Afghanistan, sparking a furious protest and shouts of “death to America”, officials and witnesses said.
Gunshots rang out after the shooting in the volatile southern province Kandahar, while witnesses reported hearing an explosion.
“In this incident four passengers were martyred and 18 others were injured,” Afghan interior ministry said in a statement, adding that an investigation had been launched.
The provincial government in Kandahar said one woman and a child were among the four people killed.
NATO’s US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was “aware” of the incident resulting in civilian casualties and was looking into what happened, without giving further details.
The deaths are the latest in a series of civilian incidents involving foreign troops deployed in Afghanistan to help the Western-backed Afghan government defeat a nearly nine-year Taliban insurgency.
Civilian casualties are a source of anger among Afghans and often used by politicians and the Taliban to whip up public opposition to the 126,000 US and NATO forces based in the country.
Some 200 men took the streets in Kandahar, capital of a province considered the Taliban’s spiritual stronghold, to protest against Monday’s killings.
They burnt tyres and shouted “death to America, death to (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai, death to this government”.
They also blocked the main road between the city and western Herat province, witnesses said.
Speaking by telephone, the driver of the bus, who gave his name as Esmate and escaped uninjured, said he was some 70 to 100 metres from a military convoy when the shooting started.
“They opened fire at us and I fell unconscious. The people who were killed were sitting in the seats just behind me,” he said.
Another witness, Gul Mohammad, said he heard the firing and saw the bus skid on the road.
“When I arrived here I saw they (the troops) were taking out the wounded and a helicopter taking them somewhere,” he said.
“The convoy was there. I think the distance was 70 to 80 metres and they opened fire for no reason.”
Gunshots and an explosion were heard after the incident, an AFP reporter and an official said.
Despite the high-profile reporting of civilian deaths, the United Nations has said that the overwhelming majority of ordinary Afghans are killed by Taliban attacks, mostly crude bombings and suicide attacks.
Some 2412 civilians died last year, the UN said.
—Agencies