Three months after a German-ordered air strike in Kunduz, Northern Afghanistan, Germany's Defense Ministry is poised to pay compensation to the relatives of Afghan civilians killed in the attack. On Wednesday, a lawyer representing victims' families held talks with Defense Ministry officials in Berlin aimed at hammering out a compensation deal. "This isn't just about dishing out a few dollars," Karim Popal, a Bremen-based lawyer representing 80 relatives of victims, tells TIME. "We want to set up a special fund and provide long-term help for the women and children who lost their families' breadwinners in the air strike."
Popal claims the missiles fired by an American fighter jet on the orders of a German military commander killed 137 Afghan civilians, injured 20 and left 22 missing. According to Popal's research, compiled with the help of locals in Kunduz, only five Taliban fighters were at the scene. But amid conflicting reports from the Afghan government, local officials and leaked German military reports, it's still not clear how many Afghans died. Popal says he has met a 30-year-old Afghan woman who lost her husband and father in the raid and now has to look after her six daughters by herself. "My clients are furious that German forces ordered the Kunduz air strike. They feel very disappointed," says Popal. "They see German troops as murderers, just as American soldiers are viewed."
Its a f%^n' war, people, and sometimes the civilians aren't smart enough to get out of the way. When they don't, it's Darwin in action.
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By: Brant
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