Afghan report
. . .
apologies for civilian deaths are "not sufficient".
According to a statement on Sunday, Karzai told US General David Petraeus, the overall commander of international troops in Afghanistan, that expressing regret was no longer enough.
In a meeting with Karzai, Petraeus apologised for the deaths last week of nine children in the eastern province of Kunar, saying the killings were a "great mistake" and there would be no repeat.
A statement from Karzai's office said: "President Karzai said [to Petraeus] that only regret is not sufficient and also mentioned that civilian casualties during military operations by coalition forces is the main reason for tension in relations between Afghanistan and United States.
"It is not acceptable for the Afghan people anymore. Regrets and condemnations of the incident cannot heal the wounds of the people."
Hours before Karzai's statement, hundreds of people chanting "Death to America" protested in the Afghan capital
against the recent spate of civilian deaths.
Protesters later burnt an effigy of Barack Obama, the US president.
Following the Kunar incident, Lieutenant General David Rodriguez, who directs day-to-day operations of international forces across Afghanistan, later issued a video statement of apology.
Mars 2011 — apologies for civilian deaths
Speaking over a secure video conference link on Wednesday, Karzai told Barack Obama,
the US president, that civilian casualties are a serious problem that needs to be
better addressed by the US-led forces.
Civilian casualties have long been a source of friction between the NATO force and Karzai, who condemned the Kunar incident, saying the victims were "innocent children who were collecting firewood for their families during this cold winter".
Afghan officials say as many as 65 civilians were killed in another air raid in February, claims that Petraeus have denied.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton visited the village in Pech valley where the latest deaths occurred.
Viewers may find some of the images disturbing:
VIDEO 3 mars 2011
