Tag Archives: Afghanistan
21 March 2013
On 20 March 2013, a German court of first instance in Bonn began to hear the complaints by several relatives of Afghans killed by airstrikes in northern Afghanistan near the city of Kunduz in September 2009. The airstrikes were targeted at two stolen tankers but led to the death and injury of numerous civilians. The strikes were executed by American planes, but ordered by a German NATO officer. The German government has already paid 330,000 euros to the victims of the airstrikes, but the claimants before the Bonn District Court claim ten times this amount from Germany.
Source: Euronews | Germany in the dock over Kunduz airstrike
Source: Der Spiegel | Kunduz-Prozess: Was darf ein Offizier im Krieg? (in German)
21 March 2013
The UN Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year, until 19 March 2014. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged for continued UN support to the Afghan government up to and beyond the 2014 deadline for the assumption of full responsibility of governance, security and development in most areas.
In the resolution, the Council “stresses the critical importance of a continued presence of UNAMA and other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in the provinces, consistent with the transition process, in support of and in cooperation with the Afghan Government.”
The withdrawal of most of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United States troops from Afghanistan is planned to be completed by the end of 2014. A transition of responsibility for security in the state from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to Afghan forces is underway.
Source: UN News Centre | Afghanistan: Security Council extends mission amid calls for continued UN support
Source: UN Secretary-General | Latest Statements | New York, 19 March 2013 - Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council Debate on Afghanistan
13 March 2013
The United States (US) has delayed the transfer of control over the Bagram Prison in Afghanistan to Afghan control, in view of the dispute of the continuing involvement of the US in matters of detention policy.
The New York Times reports that the US is concerned about dangerous insurgents being freed, and that they ‘want to keep a veto power over whom the Afghans release; they want promises that the Afghans will not release certain dangerous prisoners, whom the American military calls Enduring Security Threats, or E.S.T.’s, even if they cannot be prosecuted in court for specific offenses; and they want promises that the United States will retain access to Afghan-run cellblocks to ensure that detainees are not being abused.’
Source: The New York Times | U.S. Again Delays Transfer of Bagram Prison to Afghan Forces
19 February 2013
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that he would forbid his military forces from requesting American or NATO forces to conduct airstrikes. The announcement follows a joint Afghan-NATO attack last week in the Kunar Province (in eastern Afghanistan), that killed ten civilians. The airstrike was reportedly requested by the Afghan National Directorate of Security.
Source: The New York Times | Karzai to Forbid Afghan Forces From Requesting Foreign Airstrikes
21 January 2013
A new United Nations (UN) report states that Afghan authorities are still torturing prisoners who had been transferred by foreign governments. Even though the international military force was making a serious effort to delay transfers if there was risk of torture, about 30 percent of 79 detainees who had been transferred to Afghan custody by foreign governments ended up being tortured, the report said. That is higher than in 2011, when the UN found that 24 percent of transferred detainees were tortured.
Source: The New York Times | UN: Prisoners Still Tortured in Afghan Custody