U.N., Kabul concern mounts over civilian casualties; Jihadi corridors open in Syria

UNAMA calls for airstrike accountability

Those responsible for civilian casualties in Afghanistan must be held accountable for their actions, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said.

Afghan officials reacted with outrage over reports of civilian casualties from U.S. airstrikes in the province of Farah last week.

Washington and Kabul agreed to conduct a joint investigation into the allegations while U.S. officials said airstrikes will continue as the military effort in Afghanistan escalates.

On Monday, however, UNAMA said the safety of Afghan civilians should be the top priority and called for accountability on all levels.

"Whoever caused the loss of these lives must be held accountable," UNAMA spokesman Aleem Siddique said. "We have always made clear that the safety and the welfare of the Afghan people must come first in the planning and implementation of any military operation."

Meanwhile, U.S. officials are facing criticism over the alleged use of white phosphorus munitions in the Farah attacks, which Afghan officials said caused severe burns to scores of local residents.

U.S. and other national forces use white phosphorus rounds to illuminate areas during nighttime raids. Its use is not prohibited under international law, but several rights groups complain of its secondary effects.

"White phosphorus causes horrendous burns and should not be used in civilian areas," said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. "NATO should immediately make public the results of its investigation into this incident."

UNAMA, for its part, said the joint U.S.-Afghan investigation should look into all tactics employed during the Farah raid to make sure collateral damage is kept to a minimum.

"It will be vital for the investigation team to look at exactly what tactics have been used and the impact they have had on the civilians," said Siddique, the UNAMA spokesman. "Safety and welfare of Afghan people must come first."

Afghan airstrikes to continue, U.S. says

The government of Afghanistan has called for a halt of U.S. air raids, but White House officials warn of continued attacks as the regional effort expands.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Washington, D.C., last week for a series of bi- and trilateral meetings with top government officials.

The summit comes as Washington and the international community ramp up their efforts to control the declining security situation in the region, with progress in Afghanistan stagnating while Taliban militants descend on the Pakistani capital.

Zardari has called for an increase in U.S. military airstrikes along the Pakistani border with Afghanistan, though Karzai continued to express concerns over mounting civilian casualties allegedly resulting from U.S. combat operations.

U.S. national security adviser James Jones, however, said it was unlikely those attacks would end, Voice of America reports.

"Certainly, to tie the hands of our commanders and say we are not going to conduct airstrikes would be imprudent," Jones said. "That is part of the combined arms package, so we probably would not do that."

U.S. military officials said Taliban insurgents are responsible for recent civilian casualties in Afghanistan, though Washington promised to work jointly with Kabul to investigate the latest claims.

Aid reform needed in Afghanistan

Rampant corruption, a weak government and a lack of efficiency is contributing to a reduction in effective aid programs in Afghanistan, officials said.

World Bank officials told the U.N. humanitarian news agency, IRIN, that despite $1.2 billion in development aid, many programs have fallen short of their goals.

"The results of programs funded with international assistance have been commendable in many areas but have failed to meet public expectations," said Paul Sisk, a financial management expert at the World Bank.

Meanwhile, an analysis by Kabul's Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit said international mechanisms for aid in Afghanistan are lacking the appropriate safeguards to make reconstruction contributions effective.

Kabul, for its part, said only 30 percent of international funding goes through official government channels while public accountability surveys suggest 60 percent of that aid is tainted by corruption.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a March report to the U.N. Security Council that donor accountability was poor, with at least $500 million in aid reporting missing through 2008.

Jihadi traffic in Syria on the rise

The flow of foreign fighters across the Syrian border to Iraq is increasing as Damascus moves to restore its regional standing, The Washington Post reports.

The Post reported Monday that al-Qaida fighters have increased their activity along a transit route to parts of Iraq, notably Mosul. Meanwhile, Washington renewed sanctions on Damascus for its role in regional militancy as both governments move to alleviate historic acrimony.

U.S. President George W. Bush stressed that Syria was a staging ground for the Iraqi insurgency, but the Post report said some in the U.S. intelligence community remain divided over the role Damascus plays in al-Qaida's network.

Meanwhile, top military officials have pointed to an uptick in the travel of foreign fighters across the Syrian border as the level of violence in Iraq has increased in recent weeks.

That increase, the Post said, corresponds with a renewed effort by al-Qaida to disrupt political development in Iraq through a series of sectarian attacks.

The violence comes as Iraq is limited by declining oil revenue to only modest border patrols while American military forces prepare to pull out of Iraqi cities by the end of June.

Pelosi makes surprise visit to Baghdad

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Iraqi government officials in Baghdad, calling for stronger bilateral ties as a deadline for U.S. troops approaches.

Pelosi, D-Calif., met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and others during a surprise weekend visit. Her trip comes as American troops prepare to pull out of major Iraqi cities by the end of June under the terms of a bilateral Status of Forces Agreement.

"We're looking forward to more developed relations between the two countries as far as the issue of troops withdrawal from the cities is concerned and also to backing efforts aimed at stabilizing security conditions and preserving Iraqi funds," Pelosi said, according to the Voices of Iraq news agency.

Maliki, meanwhile, took the opportunity to stress that his forces were prepared to take responsibility for national security as the international military intervention in Iraq evolves toward reconstruction, Voices of Iraq reports.

"We do not need large number of troops inside the cities because we managed to wield control over the cities," he said. "Now our efforts are focused on improving our intelligence agencies."

Pelosi held meetings also with her Iraqi counterpart, Iyad al-Samarrai, tackling the issue of government corruption.

The visit comes as Pelosi faces criticism in the United States over the details of her knowledge of harsh interrogation tactics employed by the CIA at the U.S. naval detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Dual elections in Kurdistan

The Kurdish provinces in Iraq will hold provincial and presidential elections on July 25, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government announced.

KRG President Massoud Barzani announced the date for provincial elections last week before members of the Kurdish Parliament.

Critics lashed out at the Kurdish government in Iraq over failed democratic reforms as the two leading parties -- the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party -- announced their intentions to compete on a unified slate.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who is leader of the PUK, said democratic policies were slow to take hold in the Middle East but added those reforms were indeed taking place.

His comments were backed by Barzani, who called on the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq to monitor the elections and welcomed challengers to take part in the process.

"I welcome IHEC to invite neutral organizations to observe the elections," he said. "All political parties and actors should accept the results of our free and fair elections."

Barzani, meanwhile, is expected to nominate himself for re-election, but he added that he would put his candidacy to a public referendum, not a parliamentary vote.

The Kurdish provinces -- Erbil, Dahuk and Sulaimaniya -- held their first democratic elections in 1992 following the Persian Gulf War.

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