NGO "outraged" over civilian deaths

A UK-based NGO working with Iraqi civilians has expressed "outrage" at the findings of a report accusing the US military of failing to conduct proper investigations into civilian deaths resulting from "excessive, indiscriminate use of force" in the capital, Baghdad. "We are outraged, but not surprised. Having followed press reports closely over the last six months, we were aware that Iraqi civilians continued to be killed by the occupying forces with apparent impunity," Gabriel Carlyle, the joint coordinator for Voices in the Wilderness-UK, told IRIN from London on Tuesday. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released on Tuesday and entitled "Hearts and Minds: Postwar Civilian Casualties in Baghdad by US Forces", has collected information about 94 civilian deaths in Baghdad. "It is a tragedy that US soldiers have killed so many civilians in Baghdad," said Joe Stork, the acting executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division at HRW. "But it's really incredible that the US military does not even count these deaths. Anytime US forces kill an Iraqi civilian in questionable circumstances, they should investigate the incident." Carlyle shared this view. "The fact that six months after George Bush declared 'major combat operations' over, US forces in Iraq -who, of course, have no right to be there in the first place - continuing to kill civilians with virtual impunity speaks volumes," he said. According to HRW, the US military has said it has concluded five investigations "above the division level, ordered by the deputy commanding general" into alleged unlawful deaths. "Of these, soldiers were found to have operated within the rules of engagement in four cases." However, the human rights watchdog conducted its own investigation into two of the five cases and found evidence to suggest that soldiers had used excessive force, including shooting a man who had his hands in the air, and beating a detainee. "In some cases, US soldiers have behaved with unnecessary rudeness towards Iraqi civilians," the report said. HRW strongly recommended that US forces desist from the practice of allegedly putting their feet on the heads of Iraqis whom they have detained, face-down on the ground. In Iraqi culture, the use of feet against another person is highly insulting and offensive. US military officers responded by informing HRW that they were providing extra training for US forces. However, researchers said they did come across some military personnel who expressed frustration at their colleagues' behaviour, quoting one officer saying: "It takes a while to get the Rambo stuff out." The HRW report made recommendations on how civilian deaths could be minimised. "Checkpoints should be better marked with signs in Arabic and lights, and interpreters should accompany all raids," it said. Voices in the Wilderness-UK had a stronger message. "The US/UK military occupation is clearly part of the problem, not the solution, and the new UN resolution clearly changes nothing in this regard," Carlyle maintained. "One might add that as long as resistance continues to grow, Iraqi civilians will continue to be killed by US and British forces," he warned. The NGO has a sister organisation in the US, which occupies a house in Baghdad, from where it is writing regular reports on civilian life in the city. According to Carlyle, two members of Voices in the Wilderness-US were recently removed and banned from a Baghdad press conference held by the commander of the US-led forces in Iraq, Gen Ricardo Sanchez, for raising the case of US troops shooting at an Iraqi family in August, killing the husband and three children. Voices-US has campaigned, in the US and UK, against economic sanctions on Iraq since the mid 1990s.