December 30, 2009 9:38 PM

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Protest against killing of 10 civilians in a military raid

In Afghanistan, hundreds of people took to the streets on Wednesday in capital Kabul and eastern city of Jalalabad to protest against the killing of 10 civilians in a military raid by foreign forces few days ago in Kunar province. Jamiat Eslah, or Afghan Society for Social Reform and Development, staged a rally in Kabul urging the Afghan government and law-enforcement agencies to seriously follow-up the killing of civilians. In the capital of Nangahar province, around 200 university students took to the streets to protest against the raid, demanding those responsible be brought to justice. They chanted slogans against U.S. President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, a delegation sent by President Karzai to investigate the killings said no one killed in the NATO operation was a militant. The delegation head Asadullah Wafa said the government wants to find and punish the person who has given the false information regarding presence of militants there. Civilian casualties caused by Western forces have created anger toward foreign troops, which NATO commander U.S. General Stanley McChrystal says undermines his mission. NATO-led forces said the raid was a joint operation and it was still under investigation, but Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimi said Afghan troops had not taken part.

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