BEIJING, Dec. 30 -- China urges the US to launch a thorough investigation into the deaths of Afghan civilians in drone attack this August, punish the perpetrators, and do justice to the Afghan people, said a Chinese defense spokesperson at a regular press conference on Thursday.
Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made this remark when being asked to comment on the recent decision released by US Department of Defense that no punishment would be imposed on the military personnel that had caused the death of ten civilians during the drone attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, this August.
Tan said that the Chinese side always holds that all combat approaches and means, including armed drones, must comply with relevant rules of the international humanitarian law, especially on the strict distinction between innocent civilians and combat personnel.
He pointed out that the so-called Summit for Democracy led by the US has come to an end recently, but those innocent Afghan victims and their families still haven’t seen any justice done from the US after several months. That is a blatant stomp on the rules of international humanitarian law, and a great irony on the so-called “democracy” and “human rights” touted by the US itself, added Tan.
Senior Colonel Tan also called upon the international community to take joint actions to investigate those warmongers and hold them accountable for deliberately sabotaging international rule of law and slaughtering innocent civilians without any scruple.