Middle East

France admits troops mistakenly killed Afghan civilians

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-30 01:07

French troops in Afghanistan mistakenly killed four civilians during a fight with insurgents in early April, a military spokesman told local media Thursday after a two-week investigation.

French general staff spokesman Christophe Prazuck said the investigation found a missile strike on insurgent positions during a joint French-Afghan operation on April 6 mistakenly hit five civilians, killing four.

"To our knowledge, it's the first time that such an event has involved the French army," Prazuck said, referring to civilian casualties caused by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

With the withdrawal date of the 126,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan still unclear, civilian casualties has been an increasingly sensitive issue in the restless country.

Public outrage in Afghanistan and raging international concern prompted NATO last year to tighten regulations on the use of air strikes and other weapons in population-dense regions.