Sun, 10 May 2009 23:37:23 GMT
Human rights and medical officials say that they suspect white phosphorus was used by US-led forces in an attack last week on civilians in Afghanistan.
More than 140 civilians were killed on Tuesday when US warplanes dropped bombs on two villages in the Bala Baluk district in the western province of Farah.
Britain's Observer weekly reported on Sunday that Dr. Mohammad Aref Jalali, who heads the internationally-funded burns hospital in Herat, said the victims among villagers taken to his hospital showed 'highly unusual burns' on their hands and feet, of a type that they had not seen before. "We cannot be 100% sure what type of chemical it was and we do not have the equipment here to find out. One of the women who came here told us that 22 members of her family were totally burned. She said a bomb distributed white powder that caught fire and then set people's clothes alight."
This description of material, that spontaneously ignite after contact with air are very close to what was seen earlier in the year in Gaza, when Israel subjected the Palestinian enclave to attacks by white phosphorus dispersed by air-burst shells.
Human Rights Watch identified the Israeli white phosphorus shells as being of the 155mm, M825E1 type of US origin.
The US forces have acknowledged using white phosphorus bombs in other theaters of operations too, including the November 2004 suppression of uprising in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, in contravention of the Geneva Conventions that prohibit the use of incendiary weapons against human targets.
According to the Human Rights Watch, other than serious burns, white phosphorus can cause poisoning through the production of 'systemic poisoning', resulting in deaths with even less than 10 percent burns.
Nader Nadery, a senior officer at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said that his organization also feared about the type of chemical used in the latest attacks on Afghan villagers.
Local Afghan sources reported that as many as 147 civilians were killed in the attacks by US-led forces.
The newspaper reported one official in Afghanistan who did not want his name to be published as saying, "The stories that are emerging are quite frankly horrifying. It is quite apparent that the large bulk of civilian casualties were called in after the initial fighting had subsided and both the troops and the Taliban had withdrawn."
The high number of casualties among the Afghan civilians has been blamed for the resurgence of the Taliban, whose ranks are replenished by Afghans who may seek revenge for the slaughter of their relatives and neighbors.
Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who is seeking reelection in the ballots set for August, last week called for a halt to attacks against civilians.
AAM/SME/MMA
Deja Vu: White Phosphorus in Afghanistan
10 May 2009 by الفلسطينية
Nader Nadery, of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, said: ‘Our teams have met with patients. They are investigating the cause of the injuries and the use of white phosphorus.’
......Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch and a former senior Pentagon intelligence analyst, said there has been widespread and regular use of white phosphorus by US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. It was unlikely the Taliban would use it.
Haji Barkat Ullah speaks with his daughter Frishta, aged seven, who was wounded in a coalition air strike in Afghanistan last
Haji Barkat Ullah speaks with his daughter Frishta, aged seven, who was wounded in a coalition air strike in Afghanistan last week
step 1: US strikes fill close to 200 in Afghanistan
step 2: Hillary expresses 'regret' over civilian deaths. blames taliban.
step 3: US accused of using wp
step 4: US denies accusations
step 5: a little girl is burned by wp
some weeks earlier...
step 1: Israel strikes Gaza, killing over a thousand
step 2: Israel expresses 'regret' over civilian deaths. blames hamas.
step 3: Israel accused of using wp
step 4: Israel denies accusations
step 5: a boy blinded by wp-
A white phosphorus shell fired by the Israeli military explodes over the Gaza strip earlier this year. The chemical ignites on contact with the air, and causes severe burns. The US is accused of using the weapon illegally in Afghanistan
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