Merkel urges Afghan raid inquiry 德国总理敦促调查阿富汗空袭

German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel has called for an urgent investigation² into an airstrike in northern Afghanistan.

德国总理Angela Merkel要求对阿富汗北部空袭事件进行一项紧急调查。

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Angela Merkel and Gordon Brown held a joint press conference in Berlin

There are reports civilians⁴ were among the victims of Friday's German-ordered raid, in which Afghan officials say up to 70 people were killed.

Ms Merkel said if any civilians died in the Kunduz province strike, she would "naturally deeply regret that".

In an announcement with UK PM Gordon Brown, she also said a major summit on Afghanistan should be held this year.

Friday's airstrike was called in by a German commander after Taliban rebels hijacked⁵ two fuel tankers⁶.

Exit strategy?

The raid has caused uproar⁷（喧嚣，骚动） in Germany, which will hold parliamentary elections on 27 September.

"The German government and I personally want to see a Nato investigative team swiftly put together that will carry out a thorough and quick explanation of what took place and whether there were civilians killed," Ms Merkel said in Berlin on Sunday.

The commander of US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, on Saturday promised a full investigation into the air raid.

Outlining calls for an international summit on Afghanistan to be held before the end of the year, the British and German leaders said it should focus on helping⁸ Afghanistan take on more responsibility.

Mr Brown said it should "deal with the issues of security, governance and development".

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin says although they did not spell it out, what the politicians are concerned about is the urgent need for an Afghan exit strategy.

That is what most of the German public wants to see as Nato's mission in Afghanistan is unpopular with them, our correspondent adds.

Britain has about 9,000 troops in Afghanistan and Germany has some 4,200.

Latest poll results

The Berlin news conference came hours after the latest partial results from Afghanistan's presidential election were released.

They showed incumbent⁹ Hamid Karzai within touching¹⁰ distance of the 50% threshold（极限，门槛） needed to avoid a run-off ballot¹¹.

With three-quarters of votes counted, he had 48.6%, followed by Abdullah Abdullah with 31.7%.

The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says it looks likely Mr Karzai will eventually get enough votes for an outright¹² first-round win, given that much of the remaining ballots¹³ to be announced are from his southern powerbase.

The 20 August poll has been marred¹⁴（损毁，糟蹋） by allegations of widespread fraud.

Meanwhile, a Swedish charity has alleged¹⁵ foreign troops entered its hospital south of the Afghan capital Kabul, smashed doors and tied up staff and patients' relatives.

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan said the soldiers came into the clinic in Shaniz in Wardak province late on Wednesday "without giving any reason or justification¹⁶".

The charity said it breached¹⁷ agreements between non-governmental organisations and the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), which along with the US has more than 100,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.

An Isaf spokesman said an investigation had been launched.