Afghanistan: Four Killed In Friendly Fire Incidents

Radio Netherlands, “The mission in Afghanistan is tough and full of risks. Each time, we feel the loss of Dutch soldiers is difficult to bear. Their relatives are confronted with immeasurable grief” – the words of Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende on Sunday. 
 
In a special statement, Mr Balkenende expressed his shock at the deaths of two Dutch soldiers the day before. Shock morphed into dismay and disbelief when reports emerged that they were most probably killed by friendly fire. The incident occurred during night-time clashes with Taliban insurgents in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan. 
 
The Dutch troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) came under fire near their base in Deh Rawod, a Taliban militants' stronghold, after they found a weapons cache during house-to-house searches. 
 
The two, 20-year-old private first class Wesley Schol and 22-year-old corporal Aldert Poortema, were killed as they rushed to the rescue of a fellow soldier who was seriously injured in both legs.In a separate incident later that night, Dutch troops killed two Afghan soldiers, mistaking them for Taliban insurgents because they weren't wearing their uniforms. 
 
Cause for concern 
 
The Dutch military authorities have launched an official investigation. Chief of Defence Dick Berlijn, who presented the details of the incidents late on Sunday, blamed them on “poor weather conditions, overall darkness and chaotic circumstances.” 
 
Earlier in the day, he described the situation in Uruzgan as “unstable and a cause for concern”. 
 
So far, 14 Dutch military personnel have been killed since the Netherlands joined the international NATO stabilisation Force in Afghanistan in August 2006. 
 
In November the Dutch government decided to prolong its Afghanistan deployment by two years to December 2010. 
 
Current operation 
 
Dutch and Afghan forces are currently undertaking an operation to look at the possibility of refugees returning to the Deh Rawod area, Chief of Staff Berlijn explained. Several hundred Dutch and Afghan forces are involved in this operation. 
 
More than 1,600 Dutch soldiers are serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which has around 37,000 troops in Afghanistan.