Troops told to avoid risking civilian lives

Published on Monday 22 June 2009 22:52

BRITISH troops will be told to retreat if they come under fire in built-up areas to reduce the numbers of civilians being killed in Afghanistan.

The commander of the US and Nato operation in Afghanistan will rule that forces must break away from fights with militants hiding in houses, amid growing concern that the civilian death toll is undermining the whole mission.

Some 829 civilians were killed in the Afghan war last year according to the United Nations – and civilian casualties are a major source of friction between Afghan president Hamid Karzai and foreign forces.

Commanders say such deaths damage their mission as they turn average Afghans against the US and British forces.

General Stanley McChrystal, who took command of international forces in Afghanistan this month, has said his measure of effectiveness will be the "number of Afghans shielded from violence", and not the number of militants killed.

He will issue orders in days saying troops may attack insurgents hiding in houses if US or Nato forces are in imminent danger and must return fire, US military spokesman, Rear Admiral Greg Smith, said yesterday.

"But if there is a compound they're taking fire from and they can remove themselves from the area safely, without undue danger to the forces, that's the option they should take," he said.

"Because in these compounds we know there are often civilians kept captive by the Taleban."

British troops have until now been under less specific instructions to use force "proportional to provocation" that minimises risk of civilian casualties.

The orders will apply to the 8,300 British troops serving in Afghanistan, as the United States is in charge of the overall mission. There is growing resentment in Afghanistan at the rising numbers of civilians killed.