Taliban insurgents are increasingly using civilians as human shields against the United States-led attack on Marjah, in southern Afghanistan, a senior Afghan commander said on Wednesday.
Speaking on the fifth day of an offensive involving about 15 000 US, British and Afghan troops, General Mohiudin Ghori said his soldiers had seen Taliban fighters place women and children on rooftops and fire from behind them.
At the same time US marines called in air support as they came under heavy gunfire from insurgents hiding in bunkers, houses and mosques.
Ghori, the senior commander for Afghan troops in the area, accused the Taliban of placing civilian hostages in the line of fire. “Especially in the south of Marjah, the enemy is fighting from compounds where soldiers can very clearly see women or children on the roof or in a second-floor or third-floor window,” he was quoted by Associated Press as saying. “They are trying to get us to fire on them and kill the civilians.”
His forces were having to choose between not returning fire and advancing much more slowly in order to distinguish militants from civilians, Ghori said, echoing comments by British commanders in the area about Taliban tactics.
‘Inexcusable’
Dawud Ahmadi, a spokesperson for the governor of Helmand, Gulab Mangal, said that 1 240 families had been displaced and evacuated from Marjah to Lashkar Gah, capital of the province.
Amnesty International said on Wednesday that the Nato-led force lacked the “credible mechanism” needed to investigate incidents of loss of civilian life or ensure that such occurrences were not repeated.
The human rights group also described as “inexcusable” tactics employed by the Taliban, stating that knowingly endangering Afghan life could constitute a war crime. It urged both sides in the conflict to comply with legal obligations to protect thousands of displaced Afghans and those still trapped in areas of intense fighting.
Amnesty issued the warning after the deaths of at least 15 civilians so far during Operation Moshtarak, including 12 people killed on Sunday when a house was struck by Nato rockets. A further three have since been killed in separate incidents.
Nato said that any credible allegation would be investigated. Carmen Romero, a spokesperson, said: “We are trying to do everything we can to limit civilian casualties and we are increasing our efforts.”
Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi said: “About 10 000 civilians have fled the conflict zone, but thousands more are caught up in the fighting.” He added: “The Taliban have a record of knowingly endangering Afghan civilians in their operations, which can constitute a war crime. Insurgent groups are bound by international law to take every possible precaution to protect the lives of civilians.” — guardian.co.uk