Rules Of Engagement By NATO Forces In Afghanistan Are Tightened

An Afghan woman and her daughter grieve after the air strike in Shindand district last month. An inquiry into the strike is to reopen. Photograph: Fraidoon Pooyaa/AP

Nato Tightens Rules Of Engagement To Limit Further Civilian Casualties In Aghanistan -- The Guardian

Nato has issued new military rules of engagement in Afghanistan in an attempt to limit civilian deaths, after the air strike last month which reportedly killed 90 people, including 60 children, it emerged yesterday.

The orders were issued by General David McKiernan, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, who also asked the US central command to reopen an inquiry into the air strike in the western district of Shindand, as video footage surfaced showing the bodies of child victims.

US drone air strikes on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border are meanwhile reported to have hit a house and madrasa linked to a Taliban commander, Jalaluddin Haqqani. Taliban officials claimed Haqqani was not there at the time of the attack and that 20 people had been killed in the attacks.

The rules of engagement for Nato troops will focus on house searches, saying they should be led by Afghan forces, and that permission from homeowners should first be sought. A limit on the size and weight of bombs used in air strikes was imposed last year, but there is continuing anxiety in Nato about the counterproductive impact of civilian casualties on the majority Pashtun population.

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My Comment: NATO is now feeling the heat on how they are conducting this war. Unfortunately, this is only a short term fix, and one that is going to be abused and taken advantage of by the Taliban.