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Merkel regrets Afghan raid deaths | Merkel regrets Afghan raid deaths |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel says she "deeply regrets" any loss of innocent life, after civilians were killed in an air strike in Afghanistan. | Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel says she "deeply regrets" any loss of innocent life, after civilians were killed in an air strike in Afghanistan. |
But Mrs Merkel told parliament that Germany's mission in Afghanistan remained necessary. | But Mrs Merkel told parliament that Germany's mission in Afghanistan remained necessary. |
There has been heavy criticism of the strike, ordered by a German commander. | There has been heavy criticism of the strike, ordered by a German commander. |
The chief of international forces in Afghanistan, US General Stanley McChrystal, has visited the scene and concluded that civilians were killed. | The chief of international forces in Afghanistan, US General Stanley McChrystal, has visited the scene and concluded that civilians were killed. |
The incident happened on Friday, when US jets, responding to a German request, bombed two oil tankers that had been hijacked by the Taliban. Many people nearby were killed. | |
Unpopular mission | |
Mrs Merkel said in a speech to parliament on Tuesday: "Every innocent person killed in Afghanistan is one too many. | Mrs Merkel said in a speech to parliament on Tuesday: "Every innocent person killed in Afghanistan is one too many. |
"Any innocent person killed or hurt, including through German actions, I deeply regret." | "Any innocent person killed or hurt, including through German actions, I deeply regret." |
"It is important to me as German chancellor to express this today, and to the Afghan people, and I think I say this in all your names," Mrs Merkel told MPs. | "It is important to me as German chancellor to express this today, and to the Afghan people, and I think I say this in all your names," Mrs Merkel told MPs. |
What an error of judgment! Why didn't they send in ground troops? Hamid KarzaiAfghan president Eyewitness: 'Anger in Kunduz' Germans question Afghan war | |
She promised a thorough investigation and said: "I will ensure that we will not put a gloss on anything." | She promised a thorough investigation and said: "I will ensure that we will not put a gloss on anything." |
Germany's mission in Afghanistan is opposed by many Germans, and the controversy has piled pressure on the government less than three weeks before general elections. | |
The independent Afghanistan Rights Monitor group says up to 70 civilians died in the raid, in Kunduz province. | |
Gen McChrystal made an Afghan TV address, promising a full investigation and stating that "nothing is more important than the safety and protection of the Afghan people". | |
Gen McChrystal has made avoiding civilian deaths a priority since taking over the alliance's Afghan campaign. | |
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Aftermath of the blast in Kunduz province | |
The Nato air strike targeted fuel tankers hijacked by the insurgents. | |
The German commander apparently feared they would be used to launch a suicide bombing on the German base nearby. | |
But at the time of the strike, the vehicles had apparently become stuck in a river bed. It is thought local people had gathered round, helping themselves to free fuel. | |
The air strike has caused strains between the German and US military, and was strongly criticised by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. | |
"What an error of judgment! More than 90 dead all because of a simple lorry that was, moreover, immobilised in a riverbed. Why didn't they send in ground troops to recover the fuel tank?" he said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro. | |
"General McChrystal telephoned me to apologise and to say that he himself hadn't given the order to attack," he added. | |
But German Defence Secretary Franz Josef Jung has defied calls to resign over the incident - the deadliest involving German troops since World War II - and a defence ministry spokesman insisted the decision to attack was "militarily necessary and correct". |