The Italian defense minister has demanded that NATO troops stop carelessly killing civilians in Afghanistan in the campaign against insurgent Taliban militants, an Italian paper said Sunday.
According to recent reports, more than 90 civilians were been killed by airstrikes and artillery fire targeting Taliban militants.
The La Stampa daily said Arturo Parisi, who is known as a strong supporter of the current Prime Minister Romano Prodi, sent a letter to NATO Headquarters in Brussels with demands that NATO troops show more restraint in Afghan operations.
"We, Italians, remain in Afghanistan, and this decision lays a heavy political burden on the ruling center-left coalition, but the Romano Prodi's Cabinet cannot tolerate mass killings of civilians in Afghanistan any longer," the minister said.
The recent casualties bring the number of civilians killed in NATO or U.S.-led military operations to 211 since the beginning of this year, according to figures provided by Afghan and foreign officials.
"It is not enough to conduct investigations [into the killings]. The names of people guilty of these atrocities must be revealed," Parisi said. "Someone has to be held responsible for the consequences [of the killings]."
There are some 2,000 Italian soldiers in Afghanistan deployed between Kabul and the western city of Herat. They are part of the 37,000-strong NATO-led force in the country.
Source: ANC News
