Obama laments civilian casualties in air strikes
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON April 2 (KUNA) -- US President Barack Obama has voiced sorrow for collateral damage namely civilian losses caused by US air strikes targeting militants in several countries.
"There's no doubt that civilians were killed .. that shouldn't have been" caused by US airstrikes around the world the US president said alluding to a series of such incidents where civilians had been killed or wounded in air strikes targeting "terrorist hideouts." Answering a question on the US airstrikes that reportedly killed civilians in Libya Yemen Somalia and other countries Obama said "over the last several years we have worked very hard to avoid and prevent those kinds of tragedies from taking place." Speaking in a news conference at the end of the Nuclear Security Summit here in Washington he noted that "legitimate criticism (exists) around the use of drone strikes or other kinetic strikes wasn't as precise as it should have been" reiterating that there is a "constant evaluation" to such operations.
One of such incidents on record was a US aerial bombing in October 2015 targeting militants in Afghanistan. The aircraft were on a mission to hit the gunmen however the bombs crashed into a civilian hospital staffed by Doctors Without Borders. The strike killed 12 medics and nine patients. (end) yt.rk
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