Soldier's warning shot kills Afghan girl

Likely hit by ricochet after warning shot fired at motorcycle speeding toward Canadian patrol
Jul 23, 2009 04:30 AM
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Dene Moore
THE CANADIAN PRESS

KANDAHAR–An Afghan girl has been killed in an accidental shooting by Canadian soldiers in Kandahar province, military officials say.

The soldiers were on foot patrol in the volatile Panjwaii district when a motorcycle came speeding toward them, Task Force Kandahar spokesman Maj. Mario Couture said yesterday.

When the driver did not heed signals to stop, a warning shot was fired and the motorcycle changed direction and sped away.

Moments later, the soldiers noticed a crowd gathering and discovered that a girl, whose age was not disclosed, had been hit by the ricocheting bullet, Couture said. Attempts to save the girl were unsuccessful, he added.

About an hour later, Canadian soldiers in neighbouring Dand district opened fired on a vehicle advancing on them in the dark with its lights out, injuring three Afghan National Police officers. Last Friday, Canadian soldiers shot and killed an Afghan man in Kandahar city and wounded three others after the car they were in failed to heed orders to stop as it sped towards soldiers defusing a roadside bomb.

Couture said the behaviour of the motorcycle driver at the scene of the girl's death was suspicious.

"We know that insurgents want to drive a wedge between the coalition force and the population, so if they can make us make mistakes, then it serves their purpose," Couture said of the incident on Tuesday.

"If we fire, it works in their favour. We're aware of that."

Insurgents test the responses of soldiers in such situations, he said.

Canadian soldiers have been attacked in the past by suicide bombers on motorbikes, on bicycles and wearing burkas – the head-to-toe coverings worn by Afghan women.

Soldiers in the recent cases appear to have followed protocol, but that may do little to calm Afghan anger, Couture acknowledged.

"We understand that we need to earn the trust and the confidence of the population," Couture said.

In the Dand incident, which also occurred Tuesday, Couture said the soldiers used lights and a warning shot to try to stop the truck carrying the Afghan officers, but to no avail.

"A shot was fired like it normally is at the ground to get their attention," Couture said. When that didn't work, soldiers fired on the vehicle, injuring three men inside. About 10 shots were fired.

"They gave them first aid and evacuated them to the hospital (at the NATO base in Kandahar)."

Two of the Afghan officers had minor injuries and were released. The third remains in hospital.

Joint investigations of the incidents are underway by the Afghan National Police and the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.

The deaths of civilians has been an Achilles heel for NATO forces, criticized by the Afghan government, the United Nations and international human rights groups.

Counter-insurgency operations by international troops are focusing anew on winning over Afghans and convincing them to turn their back on the Taliban.

To that end, the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in the country, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, issued a renewed directive this month to "mitigate that risk wherever possible."

The directive asks troops to limit their use of force in locations likely to produce civilian casualties. But the directive does not prevent soldiers from taking steps necessary to protect their own lives.