By NNN-Bernama,
Melbourne : Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has called Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai over an incident involving Australian troops in which a district leader was killed, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) news agency has reported.
Chora district governor Rozi Khan was among those who died in a firefight involving coalition forces last week after his party was mistaken for Taliban insurgents.
Khan was an ally of Karzai, who Rudd telephoned on Saturday night to express concern about the incident.
Rudd told Karzai the Australian Defence Force (ADF) would work closely with Afghan authorities to determine the circumstances of last Thursday’s event, an aide of Rudd told AAP.
Australia’s ambassador met Afghanistan’s interior minister to confirm arrangements for ADF assistance in the inquiry into the fight.
“President Karzai expressed his appreciation for the prime minister’s call and the commitment to co-operate with the Afghan government’s investigations,” Rudd’s aide said.
“He reiterated his earlier public comments that the incident seems to have resulted from a misunderstanding between international forces and local personnel.”
The ADF said on Friday it was not yet possible to determine if gunfire from Australian soldiers had killed the governor.
Rudd will meet Karzai in New York this week during the United Nations General Assembly to review progress in Afghanistan .