French soldier kills Afghan civilians
Posted
A French soldier has opened fire on a civilian vehicle in Afghanistan, killing three people including a woman and child.
The French military says the soldier started shooting when a driver failed to stop near an army convoy.
Three civilians were also wounded in the incident.
The shooting happened on Tuesday night (local time) in the province of Kapisa, north of the capital.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai has repeatedly warned international troops to take greater care and reduce the number of civilian casualties.
The French ambassador has visited the presidential palace in Kabul to formally apologise for the incident.
French defence minister Gerard Longuet said the soldier acted in self-defence when he opened fire on the car, and voiced "deep sorrow" over the deaths.
"It was a car that refused to stop at a checkpoint in spite of repeated warnings, and was in effect the target of a defensive shooting, as is the rule," Mr Longuet said on a visit to Rome.
A suicide attack in the Tagab valley of Kapisa killed five French soldiers on July 13.
ABC/AFP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, afghanistan, france
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