promising peace, said the farmer

now, now ... be careful next time ...

Canadian troops shoot civilian
March 15, 2006

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Confronted by a recent string of suicide attacks and roadside bombings, Canadian troops opened fire on a civilian taxi late Tuesday, killing one person.

The incident happened after the driver of the three-wheel vehicle - known as a tuk-tuk - ran an Afghan police checkpoint about four kilometres from this former Taliban stronghold.

"The soldier felt it necessary to use force to protect himself," said Maj. Erik Liebert, deputy commander of the provincial reconstruction team (PRT).

The taxi, with three people inside, ignored verbal and hand-signal warnings to stop, Liebert said.

Canadian vehicles belonging to the PRT were well back from the barricade when the motorized rickshaw came barrelling through.

After getting past the nighttime checkpoint, the taxi managed to near the military convoy, said Lt.-Col. Derek Basinger, the chief of staff for Task Force Afghanistan.

There was no intent to use lethal force, he said.

"They were warning shots but due to the relation of the moving vehicle, apparently they hit one passenger, Basinger said at the nearby Kandahar airfield, where most of Canada's 2,220 troops in Afghanistan are based.

The unidentified soldier who fired the two shots has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of an investigation by military police and local Afghan authorities.

"Based upon the information available right now, (there were) no materials found in the vehicle that would indicate it was being used for an attack," said Liebert, "but to a soldier at night, facing some headlights rapidly approaching his convoy and disregarding things like the spotlight he was using to warn the vehicle off, it probably appeared quite different."

The victim is identified as Nasratali Hassan. His age and other details related to his family were not available.

However, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of the Interior said relatives were notified.

"We explained that the incident was not an intentional attack," Col. Hussain Andiwal said through a translator.

"They accepted the explanation and said they want coalition forces to be careful in the future."

Andiwal said it was unclear why the taxi was on the road.

Depending upon the results of the investigation, Liebert said there may be compensation for the family.

He described the shooting as a setback for the Canadian mission of security and reconstruction.

"This is not what we came to Afghanistan to do," Liebert said.

Residents were dismayed by the shooting.

"This is not good," said Haji Imayat, a local farmer. "The coalition came here promising peace."

Due to the constant threat of suicide bombs, other civilian vehicles are not allowed to get very close to Canadian vehicles, Basinger said.

He added the local population had been warned repeatedly through signs and radio ads to steer clear of military trucks and armoured vehicles.

Suicide bombers have targeted Canadian military vehicles in the country several times, most recently on March 3. That attacked injured one soldier.

A Canadian diplomat was killed and three soldiers were wounded on Jan. 15 in another attack.

Basinger said Canadian troops have been forced to fire warning shots near approaching vehicles 10 times in the last several months.

A Canadian Forces medic treated the wounded man at the scene, but said he did not consider the victim's injuries to be life-threatening.

"The wounds looked less grave than they actually were," Basinger said.

"He was evacuated to hospital by Afghan National Police that were at the scene, but he died of his wounds."

It took the military more than 16 hours to publicly confirm the incident.

Basinger said Canadian officers had a hard time getting locals officials to confirm that the man had died.