Karzai warns US troops about civilian deaths

Afghan President Hamid Karzai urges all troops operating in Afghanistan to avoid civilian casualties during the new military operation in the country.

Thousands of US troops have launched a major offensive in the southern Afghan town of Marjah in Helmand Province to allegedly rout out Taliban militants in the region.

The assault started on Saturday with airborne attacks and involved 4,500 US Marines, 300 US soldiers and 1,500 Afghan troops.

The Afghan President’s office released a statement on Saturday, saying that Karzai “instructed” the troops involved in the operation “to exercise absolute caution to avoid harming civilians.”

“The president urges Afghan and foreign military authorities to continue to consult the local people, fully coordinate their actions and to avoid using air power in areas where civilians can be at risk,” the statement added.

Karzai issued the statement after thirty-four Marjah elders sent a letter outlining their worries to the provincial government.

The US announced the decision to launch the operation earlier to help reduce Afghan officials’ criticism about civilian casualties which has been a vexed issue between the two sides.

But the residents of the town and the villagers around Marjah have been facing difficulties to flee the region, which is surrounded by a treacherous network of canals and heavily mined fields and roads.

Karzai also called on Taliban militants to lay down their arms.

“President karzai calls upon all Afghan Taliban to use this as an opportunity to renounce violence and re-integrate into civilian life alongside other Afghans for the welfare of their country,” the statement said.

Earlier a local Taliban commander Qari Fazluddin had told Reuters that about 2,000 militants were ready to fight in Marjah, a town considered to be a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan.

Taliban, which has described the operation as “more propaganda than military necessity,” says it has already started launching mortars, killing at least 25 foreign troops in fresh attacks.

Afghan civilians – killed in militant attacks and bombings as well as in coalition forces’ “counterterrorism raids” – have been the main victims of the long-fought war.