Jeddah Food Cluster bags Guinness World Record for the world's largest food cluster    Riyadh region tops with 28.1% in Saudi residential electrical energy consumption during 2023    Saudi FM attends Quadripartite meeting on Sudan in Italy    Georgia's new parliament opens first session amid mass protests and boycott    Gangsters block aid distribution in south Gaza    Russian deserter reveals war secrets of guarding nuclear base    Judge dismisses special counsel's election case against Trump    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Franchise registrations in Saudi Arabia surge 866% over 3 years    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Saud Abdulhamid makes history as first Saudi player in Serie A    Culture minister tours Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka    Saudi Cabinet to hold special budget session on Tuesday    King Salman orders extension of Citizen's Account Program and additional support for a full year    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



German minister under pressure over new Kunduz report
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 09 - 12 - 2009


German Defence Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg
came under renewed pressure Wednesday over the government"s knowledge
of civilian victims of a botched airstrike in Afghanistan, according to dpa.
News magazine Stern reported Wednesday that Guttenberg, who became
defence minister in October, had been made aware on November 6 of a
report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that
claimed there had been 74 civilians including children killed in the
September 4 airstrike in Kunduz.
The airstrike, ordered by a German officer, targeted two fuel
tankers hijacked by militants that had become stuck in a river bed.
Franz Josef Jung, former defence minister and the military"s top
officer at the time of the airstrike, resigned from the government in
November when it emerged that details of civilian victims may have
been withheld from the public.
Defence Ministry sources confirmed to the German Press Agency dpa
on Wednesday that Guttenberg had seen the ICRC report on November 6
before he made a statement to the public in which he described the
airstrike as "militarily appropriate."
He said the government regretted every civilian casualty.
However on Wednesday Inge Hoeger, a member of parliament for the
anti-war Left Party, called for Guttenberg"s resignation.
"Whoever has a document on their desk that says that eight, ten
and twelve-year-old children were killed, can"t carry on as if
everything was alright," she said.
Guttenberg has since rescinded the judgement that the attack was
appropriate, in the light of documents on the attack he says were not
available to him at the time.
The precise number of victims of the airstrike, whether civilian
or militant, has not been conclusively determined.
A committee of the German parliament is due to begin investigating
the incident on December 16.
On Tuesday, a German lawyer acting for 78 Afghans who are
attempting to claim compensation from the German government for the
attack said he had been invited for talks with the Defence Ministry
over a possible financial settlement.
The lawyer, Karim Popal, told ARD radio on Tuesday that according
to his own research in the village in Kunduz province near where the
attack took place, there had been a total of 179 casualties,
including 137 dead. Some 22 people were still missing, and 20 had
been injured.
All - apart from 5 - had been civilians, Popal claimed.
The lawyer said that contrary to other reports, there had been no
high-ranking Taliban among the dead.
Following an inquiry, NATO said there had been a maximum of 142
people killed, including an indeterminate number of civilians.


Clic here to read the story from its source.