KABUL ? The U.S. military?s decision to formally charge Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales in the killing of 17 Afghan villagers on Friday did nothing to dampen the anger of Mohammed Wazir, who lost 11 family members ? including his mother, wife, four daughters and two sons ? in the rampage.
?This is not acceptable for us,? Wazir, 35, said Friday from the town of Spin Boldak. ?We want him to be tried in Afghanistan, in our presence.?
A farmer and trader, Wazir lived in a mud home in one of the two tiny villages in the Panjway district of Kandahar province that Bales allegedly targeted during the early morning hours of March 11. At the time, Wazir was in Spin Boldak, about 85 miles south, with his 4-year-old son, Habib Shah ? now his only surviving child.
To date, according to Wazir, provincial officials and others who have talked to the massacre victims? families, the U.S. military has not contacted any witnesses or those who lost relatives.
?None of them have come to investigate, or to talk to us, or seen the village,? Wazir said angrily. ?We want justice.?
It remained unclear in Afghanistan how a 17th murder charge was added when the tally of dead from the beginning has publicly been given as 16. U.S. military authorities on Thursday said the toll has since risen to 17.
Originally five wounded villagers were known to have been taken for medical treatment at the U.S. air base at Kandahar, including one in critical condition. Two of the wounded were released on Thursday, according to provincial officials and family members. A villager named Saadullah, who talked to the two released on Thursday, said he was told that none of those hospitalized had died.
Evidently, neither NATO nor U.S. forces have yet offered any compensation for the civilian deaths. As is his common practice when civilians are killed either by coalition or insurgence forces, President Hamid Karzai has paid families in Panjway about $2,000 for each victim.
Wazir confirmed that he had received that sum for each of the 11 in his family who died, but did not consider the money compensation for human loss. He said is was a charitable payment to cover burial expenses and other immediate needs.
A spokesman for NATO?s International Assistance and Security Force here could not be immediately reached for comment.
Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=35748bfd17ec19d97fc0380f7020a903
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