Karzai Slams US Over Massacre Investigation

Doesn't quell speculation of more than one shooter
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 16, 2012 12:15 PM CDT
Karzai Slams US Over Massacre Investigation
Afghan President Hamid Karzai listens to speeches of a family member of Afghan civilians who were killed Sunday by a US soldier in Kandahar province.   (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid)

Hamid Karzai today again kept alive speculation about whether the US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers acted alone, reports Reuters. Karzai met with family members and told reporters, "They believe it's not possible for one person to do that. In (one) family, in four rooms people were killed, women and children were killed, and they were all brought together in one room and then put on fire. That, one man cannot do." US officials have shown Afghan authorities surveillance video of the lone soldier surrendering, but it hasn't been enough to quell the speculation.

Karzai also criticized US officials for not cooperating with the Afghan investigation of the massacre, including preventing Afghan officials from talking to the accused US staff sergeant before he was flown out of the country. "We tried to talk to the soldier involved, but there was no cooperation from America," said Karzai. Relatives of the slain villagers also complained about how US officials were treating them. "Now they (the Americans) are offering us money. I don't want money. I want justice," said one village elder, according to CNN. (More Afghanistan stories.)

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