””””LONDON, April 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The London-based Amnesty International on
Tuesday urged the United States to start an independent and thorough inquiry
into the killing of seven women and children at a US military checkpoint at
Najaf, 150 kilometers south of Iraq.
””””"US authorities must conduct an independent and thorough investigation into
an attack yesterday (Monday) on a civilian vehicle that resulted in the deaths
of seven women and children," said a press release issued by the human rights
watchdog.
””””"Anyone suspected of unlawfully killing civilians must be brought to
justice," it read.
””””"The military must implement measures that will safeguard the lives of
civilians and other noncombatants and ensure that incidents like this are never
repeated," it noted.
””””The group's remarks came as General Richard Myers, chairman of the US joint
chiefs of staff, Tuesday expressed his regrets to shooting in the day.
””””"I'd like to express our regrets to the families of the Iraqi skilled
yesterday at the checkpoint near Al Najaf. The loss of any innocent life is
truly tragic," he said.
””””On Monday afternoon, in the desert near the town of Najaf, seven Iraqi
women and children huddled in a car died in a hail of US bullets certain to fuel
anti-American sentiment through the Arab world.
””””According to the figure from the Iraqi government, at least 653Iraqi
civilians have been killed since the US and British troops launched the war
against Iraq on March 20. Enditem
EU says civilian killings in Iraq
"horrible"
BRUSSELS, April 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The European Commission,
the executive arm of the European Union (EU), said Tuesday it regretted the
killing of seven Iraqi women and children by United States troops.
””””"This was a horrible, tragic incident," Reijo Kemppinen, the EC's chief
spokesman, told a daily news briefing.
””””"This was not an isolated event in the sense that too many civilians have
already died in the war...The only thing we can do is to strongly regret all
these incidents and to appeal to all sides to show maximum restraint," Kemppinen
said.
””””The killing took place at a checkpoint near Najaf in central Iraq on
Monday. The United States launched military attack on Iraq on March 20. Enditem
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