KABUL: The commander of US-led forces in Afghanistan said on Sunday that NATO would comply with President Hamid Karzai’s order banning Afghan security forces from requesting foreign air strikes in residential areas.
Karzai announced on Saturday that he would issue a decree banning local security forces from asking for NATO air strikes on “Afghan homes or villages”, following the deaths of 10 civilians including women and children in the eastern province of Kunar on Wednesday night.
US General Joseph Dunford, who assumed command of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) last Sunday, said “We got the broad guidance from the President, and we will work out the details in the coming days.”
“We are prepared to provide support in line with the president’s intent,” Gen Dunford told reporters in Kabul.
Gen Dunford said Afghanistan was “a sovereign nation and the president is exercising sovereignty.” “There are other ways we can support our Afghan partners other than air ordinance.”
Gen Dunford said his troops had made “huge progress in mitigating the civilian casualties”.
DND
