SECRETARY-GENERAL PROFOUNDLY SADDENED BY CHILDREN’S DEATHS
IN AFGHANISTAN AIR STRIKES
The following statement was issued by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Sunday, 7 December:
The Secretary-General was profoundly saddened by reports that nine children were killed in Ghazni, Afghanistan, apparently as a result of an air strike carried out by coalition forces targeting a Taliban leader.� The Secretary-General offers his sincerest condolences to the families of the children who were killed.
The Secretary-General has noted that the coalition will conduct an investigation into this tragic incident and urges that the investigation be comprehensive and that its results be made public.� Given that this is not the first time innocents have been killed as a result of coalition air strikes in Afghanistan, the Secretary-General urges that the findings of the investigation include measures to ensure that such tragic mistakes are not repeated.
The Secretary-General stresses that the protection of civilians in armed conflict is an obligation of all parties.� The fight against terrorism cannot be won at the expense of innocent lives.
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