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Battle Left Afghans With 'Unusual Burns'

By JASON STRAZIUSO and RAHIM FAIEZ
,
AP
posted: 3 HOURS 47 MINUTES AGO
comments: 319
filed under: World News
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KABUL (May 10) - Doctors voiced concern over "unusual" burns on Afghan villagers wounded in an already controversial U.S.-Taliban battle, and the country's top human rights groups said Sunday it is investigating the possibility white phosphorus was used.
The American military denied using the incendiary in the battle in Farah province — which President Hamid Karzai has said killed 125 to 130 civilians — but left open the possibility that Taliban militants did. The U.S. says Taliban fighters have used white phosphorus, a spontaneously flammable material that leaves severe chemical burns on flesh, at least four times the last two years.
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Using white phosphorus to illuminate a target or create smoke is considered legitimate under international law, but rights groups say its use over populated areas can indiscriminately burn civilians and constitutes a war crime.
Afghan doctors told The Associated Press they have treated at least 14 patients with severe burns the doctors have never seen before. The villagers were wounded during last Monday's battle in Farah province.
Allegations that white phosphorus or another chemical may have been used threatens to deepen the controversy over what Afghan officials say could be the worst case of civilian deaths since the 2001 U.S. invasion that ousted the Taliban regime.
In Kabul on Sunday, hundreds of people marched near Kabul University to protest the U.S. military's role in the deaths. Protesters carried signs denouncing the U.S. and chanted anti-American slogans.
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The incident in Farah drew the condemnation of Karzai, who called for an end to airstrikes. The U.S. has said militants kept villagers captive in hopes they would die in the fighting, creating a civilian casualties controversy.
However, President Barack Obama's national security adviser said Sunday the United States would not end airstrikes. Retired Gen. James Jones refused to rule out any action because "we can't fight with one hand tied behind our back."
Along with Afghan and U.S. investigations into the battle, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission has been looking into concerns that white phosphorus may have been used after strange burns were reported. Nader Nadery, a commissioner in the leading rights organization, said more investigation was needed.
"Our teams have met with patients," Nadery told AP. "They are investigating the cause of the injuries and the use of white phosphorus."
White phosphorus is a spontaneously flammable material that can cause painful chemical burns. It is used to mark targets, create smoke screens or as a weapon, and can be delivered by shells, flares or hand grenades, according to GlobalSecurity.org.
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Human rights groups denounce its use for the severe burns it causes, though it is not banned by any treaty to which the United States is a signatory.
The U.S. military used white phosphorus in the battle of Fallujah in Iraq in November 2004. Israel's military used it in January against Hamas targets in Gaza.
Col. Greg Julian, the top U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, said the U.S. did not use white phosphorus as a weapon in last week's battle. The U.S. does use white phosphorous to illuminate the night sky, he said.
Julian noted that military officials believe that Taliban militants have used white phosphorus at least four times in Afghanistan in the past two years. "I don't know if they (militants) had it out there or not, but it's not out of the question," he said.
A spokesman for the Taliban could not be reached for comment Sunday.
The U.S. military on Saturday said that Afghan doctors in Farah told American officials the injuries seen in wounded Afghans from two villages in the province's Bala Baluk district could have resulted from hand grenades or exploding propane tanks.
Dr. Mohammad Aref Jalali, the head of the burn unit at the Herat Regional Hospital in western Afghanistan who has treated five patients wounded in the battle, described the burns as "unusual."
"I think it's the result of a chemical used in a bomb, but I'm not sure what kind of chemical. But if it was a result of a burning house — from petrol or gas cylinders — that kind of burn would look different," he said.
Gul Ahmad Ayubi, the deputy head of Farah's health department, said the province's main hospital had received 14 patients after the battle, all with burn wounds. Five patients were sent to Herat.
"There has been other airstrikes in Farah in the past. We had injuries from those battles, but this is the first time we have seen such burns on the bodies. I'm not sure what kind of bomb it was," he said.
U.N. human rights investigators have also seen "extensive" burn wounds on victims and have raised questions about how the injuries were caused, said a U.N. official who asked not to be identified talking about internal deliberations. The U.N. has reached no conclusions about whether any chemical weapons may have been used, the official said.
Afghan officials say up to 147 people may have died in the battle in Farah, though the U.S. says that number is exaggerated.
The investigation into the Farah battle coincides with an appeal by Human Rights Watch for NATO forces to release results of an investigation into a March 14 incident in which an 8-year-old Afghan girl was burned by white phosphorus munitions in Kapisa province.
The New York-based group said Saturday that white phosphorus "causes horrendous burns and should not be used in civilian areas."
In the latest violence, a double suicide bomb attack killed seven people and wounded 20 in southern Afghanistan on Sunday. The majority of casualties were police and army units responding to the initial attack, said Dawood Ahmadi, the governor's spokesman.
A roadside bomb in eastern Nangarhar province killed eight construction workers traveling on a rural road on their way to build a checkpoint for the country's border police, an official said, while a truck driver and two assistants died in a roadside bomb blast in Zabul province while transporting goods to a U.S. base, police said.
Taliban militants have increased their attacks the last three years as the country's insurgency has turned increasingly bloody. President Barack Obama is sending 21,000 additional U.S. troops to the country to bolster the record 38,000 American forces already in the country.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-05-10 10:20:38
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Azpahammer

07:53 PMMay 10 2009

...so it looks like O-Bush-Bama is endorsing the use of white phosphorus????Looks like O-Con-Job is not so much of a peaceful yellow-belly after all????

AVG RATING:
(2)

AGDorr

07:51 PMMay 10 2009

The Taliban has resorted to incindiarys since we have become more efficient in cooping with IED's.The supplies usually come from China , via COSCO nad Clinton/ Gore help with legislation in the '90's

AVG RATING:
(0)

SGrimes889

07:48 PMMay 10 2009

Watch "Buried in the Sand" The deception of america. This video shows what the left and the networks do not want Americans to see. If you have enough guts to watch it , get it. Amazon.com. It shows what these murdering Islamics do to their own people and ours. What a bunch of cowardly asses.A pox on the bunch of them

AVG RATING:
(0)

BYNOW

07:47 PMMay 10 2009

i believe that our military has a heart and soul. they would not do something like the left wing media is trying to pin more barbara striesnan stuff and hollywood stuff on them...that said we need to get out of afganistan and also..let the taliban take over the pakistan weapons...and ...well you finish the rest of what you think they would do...i am guessing you libs would be comfortable and say they would just stop there...so lets see unless you libs think we should pull out and let this happen...what do you think?

AVG RATING:
(3)

JUSTME053059

07:46 PMMay 10 2009

They really will need the money now

AVG RATING:
(1)

Aearthling59

07:46 PMMay 10 2009

The Taliban wants control because Pakistan has nuclear weapons, what better way for them to get them, control a country and continue what they did to peoplei n Afghanistan. Pakistani women will have to do what the AFghan women were forced to do, wear those silly outfits with face covered, give up jobs as doctors, teachers, etc. The taliban has to go. We should have supported the Russians to get rid of them in the 80s. The Democrat Charlie Wilson gave millions to fight the Russians, without the knowledge of the full congress or administration, this could have all been over back then.

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(3)

Barbgre1

07:45 PMMay 10 2009

PruBaird:07:28 PMMay 10 2009:What a bunch of hateful jerks you rightwingers are. The U.S. military should be held to a higher standard than this.------------------------You should thank God that the U.S. military is there to protect us from hareful enemies who would like to blow us up. If rightwingers are haeful, that hate is directed towards our enemies, not America. Maybe it's Obama who is hateful towards America, because he is cutting defense and weakening our country.

AVG RATING:
(5)

bulgeinmyplants

07:45 PMMay 10 2009

COME ON YOU SCHMUCKS, MANY OF THOSE SO CALLED' CIVILIANS' ARE TALIBAN. AND THEY ARE TOLD TO LIE TO THE PRESS ABOUT CIVILIAN CASUALTIES,THEY ARE TOLD TO LIE ABOUT BEING TORTURED. MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THESE COUNTRIES ARE TOO STUPID TO KNOW THE TRUTH.AND THE LIB MEDIA ARE TOO DUMB TO KNOW WHEN THEY ARE BEING PLAYED.

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(4)

Zodiacspeaking1

07:44 PMMay 10 2009

This is the Zodiac speaking. I salute Recon3mc.

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(0)

Zodiacspeaking1

07:42 PMMay 10 2009

This is the Zodiac speaking. I salute Recon3mc.

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