By Xinhua,
Kabul : The special envoy of the United Nations Secretary General to Afghanistan Kai Eide on Monday expressed deep concern over civilian casualties and attacks against aid convoys in the war-torn nation.
“With regard to civilian casualties, let me emphasize that it is a great concern with us. It is a coward act and must be condemned,” he told newsmen Monday before leaving for New York.
The UN’s top diplomat to Afghanistan made these remarks just after over a dozen civilians were killed by the U.S.-led Coalition forces in Afghanistan’s eastern Nuristan province last week.
Seventeen civilians and four insurgents, according to locals, were killed in the strike while the Coalition forces insisted that all those killed in the attack were Taliban militants.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered a thorough investigation into the case.
Kai Eide added that he supported President Karzai for ordering an investigation into the case.
The UN envoy described the attack on aid convoys as a shameful act and denounced it.
Between January and June this year, 466 tons of food have been burned or looted, Eide added.
International aid agencies, particularly the World Food Program, have been largely assisting vulnerable Afghans especially in the militancy-hit areas to survive.
Such acts, he asserted, had been characterized as shameful and must be condemned.