Britain pays out over deaths of 104 civilians in Afghanistan

Published on Thursday 2 July 2009 21:51

THE Ministry of Defence has paid out, or is considering, compensation in relation to at least 104 civilian deaths allegedly caused by the British Army in Afghanistan over the past 18 months.

Compensation claims have been rejected in a further 113 cases in Helmand province, where UK forces are leading the fight against the Taleban.

The figures covering December 2007 to May 2009 are revealed in documents released by the MoD in response to a Freedom of Information request.

The documents show that payouts in cases involving fatalities over the period total about $200,000 (120,000), and range from $210 for the death of a woman to $39,792 for an incident involving "multiple fatalities, injuries and property" in Lashkar Gah province in October last year.

In Musa Qaleh, in the summer of 2007, an incident allegedly involving the deaths of five adults and 15 children resulted in a claim for more than $100,000, which was rejected.

The following year, the deaths of two children in the same town resulted in a payout of $10,000.

In a statement, the MoD said: "Compensation claims brought against British forces working as part of the International Security Assistance Force are considered on the basis of whether the MoD has a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is a proven legal liability, compensation is paid.

"Despite every effort to target only insurgents, there are times when the ordinary people of Afghanistan are inadvertently harmed. We are deeply saddened by any civilian deaths, and we particularly regret incidents where civilians are harmed as a result of actions by international forces. Even one death is one too many."

Defence minister Bill Rammell rejected suggestions that the figures revealed only the tip of a much larger iceberg. "I hugely regret any civilian casualties, but we are engaged in an increasingly difficult battle with the Taleban," he said yesterday. "We go out of our way to advertise the opportunities for compensation."