Berlin: Germany is negotiating a compensation
agreement with Afghan families whose loved ones were killed or
injured in a September airstrike near Kunduz, a government
official said on Monday.
Defence Ministry spokesman Christian Dienst told
reporters the government is in talks with an attorney
representing the Afghan families of those affected in hopes of
reaching an out-of-court settlement.
"We have entered into dialogue with (the lawyer) and our
experts will take up the issue with him and we will see to it
that we come to a solution," he said. "The fact of the matter
is that there will be a solution."
Dienst gave no details on the amount of compensation that
might be paid or how the government would determine who among
the victims were civilians and who was collaborating with the
Taliban.
German officials, citing a classified NATO report, have
said that up to 142 people are believed to have died or been
injured in the Sept. 4 airstrike on two tanker trucks that had
been captured by the Taliban. Local Afghan leaders have
estimated the number of civilian deaths at between 30 and 40.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 08, 2009, 00:00