U.S administration still to pay to families of 10 Afghans killed in ‘error’
WASHINGTON – The U.S. government has not kept the promise to pay Afghan families whose relatives were killed in a mistaken drone strike.
10 civilians, including seven children, were killed in the last U.S. drone strike in Kabul before the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
The Biden administration had promised financial compensation to the surviving family members, who were relocated to California last year for their safety.
The drone strike had resulted in a rare apology from the Pentagon.
According to volunteers who helped them, the families of Emal and Romal Ahmadi are feeling abandoned by the U.S. government.
A fundraising campaign was recently launched to help them cover their expenses.
Volunteers say these families are living in a very stressful environment and do not know how to pay their rent and bills each month.
When a news website reached out to the Pentagon officials, they declined to comment.
However, lawyers representing the Ahmadi brothers said they are currently in talks with the U.S. government.
According to volunteer groups, the Ahmadi family’s trauma mirrors the problems faced by 76,000 Afghans who have been resettled in the U.S. over the past two years.
Many of them feel violated and frustrated.
On Aug. 29, 2021, an American MQ-9 Reaper drone fired a Hellfire missile at electrical engineer Zemari Ahmadi’s car in the heart of Kabul city.
He was working for a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization.
American operators mistakenly believed that he was an ISIS-K member moving bombs.
Three days earlier, a suicide bombing at Kabul airport had killed at least 182 people, including 13 American troops.
According to an internal review obtained by the New York Times earlier this year, Ahmadi had been driving colleagues to work and unloading water canisters from his white Toyota Corolla on that fateful day. But the U.S. intelligence officials who were monitoring his movements for hours concluded that the car contained explosives as they feared a second suicide attack.
Afghans resettled in the U.S. receive 90 days of refugee assistance upon arrival. However, the cash program, which provides $325 a month for adults and $200 for children for eight months, does not cover rent and living expenses.
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