Netherlands will not appeal ruling to compensate relatives of victims of Afghanistan operation

THE HAGUE (AA) – The Dutch government has announced that it will not appeal against a court order to pay compensation to relatives of civilians who died in an operation against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement that there would be no objection to the ruling that gave compensation to relatives of civilians who died June 17, 2007, in the operation in the Chora region of Uruzgan province.

The decision to not appeal was made as a result of a “complex and careful” evaluation process, according to Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.

A Netherlands court, in a decision on November 23, found that an Afghan residence had been bombed by Dutch soldiers with F-16s in the Chora region. It had caused the deaths of civilians after having been mistakenly designated as a military target. The court held the Dutch government responsible for the attack.

Although the Dutch government argued the building was used by the Taliban for military purposes until shortly before the operation, the court asked the government to compensate the relatives.

In the case filed by four relatives of the deceased civilians, the court noted that the soldiers had acted in violation of international humanitarian law.

It is believed that approximately 250 Afghans were killed during the three-day operation out of which 50 to 80 were unarmed civilians.