UK compensation for Afghan civilian deaths triples
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, June 25, IRNA -- Compensation payments to relatives of Afghan civilians killed in error by British forces have tripled over the past year, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The figures, obtained by Channel 4 News show the Ministry of Defence (MoD), paid compensation to relatives of at least 105 Afghans last year - three times more than in 2008.
Payments in 2009 included $875 paid out to the family of a nine-year-old girl shot in the head, and $950 paid for the death of a 10-year-old boy.
Altogether some 230 claims were made last year, many of which were refused.
The number is up from 151 claims made in 2008, when there were only 33 payouts for civilian deaths.
In a statement, the MoD said that every effort was made to avoid civilian casualties, but argued that "the insurgents often target civilians... and operate from densely populated areas in order to deliberately draw civilians into battle".
"Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret, particularly when the actions of international forces may be at fault", the statement said.
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