UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday he was saddened by the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers by a lone US soldier and expects those responsible to be held accountable.
An unnamed US soldier is accused of walking off his base in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province early on Sunday and killing at least 16 villagers, mostly women and children.
"I was very, very sad to hear about this shocking incident," Ban said in a statement. "We expect that an investigation will rapidly establish the facts and that those responsible will be held accountable."
"We will continue to urge all authorities and military personnel who are engaging in these operations to pay extreme and utmost care to protect the civilian population," he said.
US President Barack Obama said earlier on Tuesday the United States was "heartbroken" by the deaths and would investigate the incident as if the dead were US citizens.
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