China urges investigation of massacre of Afghans by U.S.

BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Although the U.S. military has withdrawn from Afghanistan, the massacre of civilians by the U.S. military and its allies in Afghanistan in the past 20 years must be investigated thoroughly, and the murderers brought to justice, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a question on the recent civilian killings by U.S. troops during their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

According to reports, on August 26, a terrorist attack near Kabul's airport caused hundreds of casualties. Some wounded people claimed that the U.S. military fired at people after the explosion, causing more casualties.

Reports also said that on August 29, the U.S. military in Afghanistan used drones to attack a residential building in Kabul on the grounds of anti-terrorism actions, killing ten civilians, the youngest of whom was only two years old.

Wang said that China noticed these reports. He said reports show the killing of civilians by the U.S. military in Afghanistan occurred frequently. For instance, in 2002, a U.S. military airstrike hit a wedding banquet in Uruzgan Province, causing dozens of deaths and more than 100 injuries.

These attacks continued. A U.S. military airstrike in 2008 hit a village in Herat Province, killing nearly 100 civilians, including 50 children and 19 women.

In 2010, a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) airstrike hit Dekundi Province, killing at least 33 people.

In 2012, the British Daily Telegraph released a video showing four U.S. soldiers assaulting the remains of Taliban personnel in a reprehensible manner.

In 2015, the Afghan anti-narcotics police force was attacked by NATO fighters during its mission, and 15 policemen were killed.

In 2019, U.S. drones launched an attack in Nangarhar Province, killing at least 30 Afghan farmers.

Wang said that the number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan caused by U.S. airstrikes far exceeds the official U.S. government announcement. Statistics show that as of April 2020, at least 47,245 Afghan civilians have been killed in the war in Afghanistan launched by the United States.

He stressed that although U.S. troops exited Afghanistan, its massacre of civilians must be investigated thoroughly.

"The lives and the human rights of the Afghan people should be safeguarded. This is about the international rule of law, justice, and the progress of human rights," said the spokesperson.