Nato airstrike that killed a child and injured two women came as Hamid Karzai continues to stall on signing security pactThe United States has moved to end the tense standoff with Afghan president Hamid Karzai over his refusal to sign a security pact between the two countries by formally apologising for a US drone strike in Helmand province that killed a toddler and injured two women.
The apology was delivered in a phone call to Karzai late on Thursday by marine General Joseph Dunford, the top US and Nato commander in Afghanistan. A spokesman for Dunford told Associated Press that the commander had spoken directly to Karzai and "expressed deep regrets for the incident and any civilian casualties" that had arisen from the airstrike earlier on Thursday. Dunford also promised an immediate investigation by Nato into the incident.
The US-Afghan bilateral security agreement (BSA) was endorsed at a loya jirga (national gathering) convened by Karzai last week, which was expected to finalise the deal after a year of painful negotiations. A letter from US president Barack Obama which Karzai had demanded and read from at the opening ceremony said the US had already "redoubled our efforts to ensure that Afghan homes are respected by our forces" and continued to "make every effort to respect the sanctity and dignity of Afghans in their homes and in their daily lives, just as we do for our own citizens".
But the Afghan president then stunned both his own allies and American officials by announcing he would not sign the pact until after presidential elections next year to choose his successors. He also laid out new conditions for America to meet, including freeing all Afghan prisoners from Guantánamo Bay and ending raids on Afghan homes.
The apology was delivered in a phone call to Karzai late on Thursday by marine General Joseph Dunford, the top US and Nato commander in Afghanistan. A spokesman for Dunford told Associated Press that the commander had spoken directly to Karzai and "expressed deep regrets for the incident and any civilian casualties" that had arisen from the airstrike earlier on Thursday. Dunford also promised an immediate investigation by Nato into the incident.
The US-Afghan bilateral security agreement (BSA) was endorsed at a loya jirga (national gathering) convened by Karzai last week, which was expected to finalise the deal after a year of painful negotiations. A letter from US president Barack Obama which Karzai had demanded and read from at the opening ceremony said the US had already "redoubled our efforts to ensure that Afghan homes are respected by our forces" and continued to "make every effort to respect the sanctity and dignity of Afghans in their homes and in their daily lives, just as we do for our own citizens".
But the Afghan president then stunned both his own allies and American officials by announcing he would not sign the pact until after presidential elections next year to choose his successors. He also laid out new conditions for America to meet, including freeing all Afghan prisoners from Guantánamo Bay and ending raids on Afghan homes.
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