U.S. military killed 5,000 civilians during war
2011-01-04 18:27
Text
S. Korean panel wraps up investigation
At least 5,000 civilians were killed by the U.S. military during the Korean War, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found Tuesday.
According to the truth panel, which was established in 2005 to reinvestigate past atrocities, a total of 4,091 civilian casualties were caused by the U.S. military in the first three months of the war, before the reclaim of Seoul in September 1950.
In the 141 cases confirmed, 3,608 were killed by aerial bombardment.
After the allied forces recaptured Seoul, some 1,200 people were killed in 31 cases involving the U.S. Army until the war’s end in 1953, the committee said.
It was the first time that a state-run organization has inspected civilian deaths by the U.S. military during the Korean War and publicized the estimated number.
Of the victims, 1,218 were in vulnerable groups, including 541 women, 223 children under 10 and 228 people older than 50.
Given that 21 out of 31 cases occurred in January and February in 1951 after the recapture of Seoul, the panel said, the deaths could be the victims of operations that targeted civilians or aimed to reduce areas to ashes.
One of the cases was the bombardment of Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, in which U.S. aircraft dropped bombs on 3,000 South Korean refugees, assuming that communist soldiers were hiding among them. The panel said hundreds of people died from the attack.
During the attacks, many of the victims were found to have been doing daily activities in their residential areas or fleeing the fighting. There were also some cases in which whole families ware massacred.
“The attacks may have been carried out in order to bombard villages suspected of being used as shelters for the communist soldiers and to cut the supply lines of Chinese troops,” the investigation said.
“Considering that the deaths were investigated based on the reports from bereaved family members, the actual number could be far more,” said an official of the panel.
The truth panel ended its three-year investigation on Dec. 31 last year, completing its inspection on 11,175 cases.
By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldm.com)
At least 5,000 civilians were killed by the U.S. military during the Korean War, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found Tuesday.
According to the truth panel, which was established in 2005 to reinvestigate past atrocities, a total of 4,091 civilian casualties were caused by the U.S. military in the first three months of the war, before the reclaim of Seoul in September 1950.
In the 141 cases confirmed, 3,608 were killed by aerial bombardment.
After the allied forces recaptured Seoul, some 1,200 people were killed in 31 cases involving the U.S. Army until the war’s end in 1953, the committee said.
It was the first time that a state-run organization has inspected civilian deaths by the U.S. military during the Korean War and publicized the estimated number.
Of the victims, 1,218 were in vulnerable groups, including 541 women, 223 children under 10 and 228 people older than 50.
Given that 21 out of 31 cases occurred in January and February in 1951 after the recapture of Seoul, the panel said, the deaths could be the victims of operations that targeted civilians or aimed to reduce areas to ashes.
One of the cases was the bombardment of Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, in which U.S. aircraft dropped bombs on 3,000 South Korean refugees, assuming that communist soldiers were hiding among them. The panel said hundreds of people died from the attack.
During the attacks, many of the victims were found to have been doing daily activities in their residential areas or fleeing the fighting. There were also some cases in which whole families ware massacred.
“The attacks may have been carried out in order to bombard villages suspected of being used as shelters for the communist soldiers and to cut the supply lines of Chinese troops,” the investigation said.
“Considering that the deaths were investigated based on the reports from bereaved family members, the actual number could be far more,” said an official of the panel.
The truth panel ended its three-year investigation on Dec. 31 last year, completing its inspection on 11,175 cases.
By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldm.com)
| ||||
By Kim Rahn More than 5,000 civilians were killed by U.S. forces during the Korean War (1950-1953), a state agency said Tuesday, providing the first official tally on the figure. The report released by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea indicated that at least 5,291 civilians were killed by the U.S. forces after the three-year war broke out on June 25, 1950. Most deaths took place by Sept. 28 that year, when South Korea reclaimed the capital after retreating to southern parts of the peninsula — 4,091 people were killed in 141 battles. Among the 141, 90 cases of aerial bombing claimed 3,607 lives. This was because the U.S. forces, with their superior air force, bombed routes the North Korean military was likely to take or facilities the military was likely to use as bases. “While carrying out the bombing, the U.S. forces didn’t properly protect civilians and facilities, resulting in numerous deaths. The South Korean government and allied forces also failed to alert civilians to evacuate the bombing areas,” the report said. Women, children and the elderly made up a large portion in the death toll: Of 1,218 victims killed before the reclamation of Seoul, 45.5 percent were women. By age group, 18.3 percent of the 1,218 were aged under 10, and 18.7 percent, aged over 50. “It is because many of the victims were killed while at their residence or finding shelter together with family members. Therefore, the ratio of victims, who were supposed to be protected according to the Geneva Convention, was quite large,” the report said. The convention stipulates that civilians who are wounded, sick, old, children under 15, expectant mothers or mothers of children under seven should be specially protected. After the reclamation of the capital, an additional 1,200 civilians were killed in 31 incidents involving the U.S. forces. Of these, 21 took place between January and February 1951 during the forces’ scorch operations. The report is the first official data on such victims. “We drew up the statistics based on reports from the victims’ bereaved families or related civic groups. The actual number of victims may be larger if unreported cases are included,” an official of the commission said. The commission concluded its mission on Dec. 31 after dealing with 11,175 cases which people had asked it to investigate since April 2006. | ||||
| rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/01/117_79170.html |
No comments:
Post a Comment