Two children were killed and another two hospitalized after playing with unexploded ordinance that was believed to be found in a Canadian firing range in Afghanistan, in February 2009, according to classified document leaked by the website Wikileaks.
The account differs drastically from those made by residents in the area shortly after the children were killed.
“A mortar round, fired from the direction of a Canadian forward operating base to the west of the village, landed among the children, who were on their way back from a local madrassa” read a story in Canadian Press [CP] from February 23rd 2009. Abdul Wahid, a resident of the area told CP "This is disgusting, firing these kind of mortars on civilians".
The Official report placed more of the blame on the children, but still suggested Canada may have played a role in the children's death.
“The children reportedly brought the [unexploded ordnance] home from the [Canadian] Range and were playing with it. Their parents told them to get rid of it and they took it out of the house and began beating it with a rock until it detonated”
The Children lived in a community known as `the handicapped village” , a community financed in part by Mohammed Bin Rashid , the ruler of Dubai. It is a community built to house those seriously injured by war.
US Forces took note of the incident when residents of the area began a protest chanting "Death to the Canadians" and parading the bodies of the two boys who appeared to be younger than teenagers. At first US forces kept their distance filing only a brief report. Later they filed a longer report on the incident. The reports were part of the 76,900 classified documents to be released to the public by the whistle blower website, Wikileaks.org.
The report did acknowledge that Canada had been test firing mortars and other ammunition as large as 120mm in the area. However it suggested that Afghan police may also be to blame as they too had been firing ammunition in the vicinity. Military Police's National Investigation Service were sent to the area, but it is unclear what their investigation revealed.
“Canadian Forces, we do have very strict policies in place to prohibit leaving behind any unexploded Ordnance and make every effort insure that the safety of Afghan Civilians and our own personnel while we conduct those ranges or after we conduct those ranges” Major Mario Couture, of the Canadian Forces told CP, shortly after the devastating explosion took place.
Unexploded Ordinance are a more problem in Afghanistan. In 2007 the UN Mine Action Center for Afghanistan, said that land mines and unexploded ordnance, kill and injure about 60 people every month and almost half of those are children.
“At least 5,978 civilians were killed and injured in 2009” according to a UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. This is the highest number of civilian casualties since the start of the war.
To view a copy of the report click here: http://zaje.biz/afg/event/2009/02/AFG20090223n1649.html
