Finnish commander says Finns and Swedes have "probably inflicted casualties" in fights with Afghan rebels

Lieutenant Col. Petri Kosonen

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Finnish and Swedish crisis management forces have probably inflicted casualties in clashes with rebels in Afghanistan, say the commanders of the forces in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat.
      Finland and Sweden are a part of the NATO-led ISAF operation in Afghanistan. ISAF supports the Afghan army and police, which the Taleban rebels are fighting against.
      “Our mission is to support Afghan forces and in fulfilling that mission we are involved in conflict situations in which we use deadly firepower, so there probably are victims on the other side; says Lieutenant Colonel Petri Kosonen, the commander of the Finnish forces.
     
Kosonen says that Afghan forces are the ones that are mostly involved in the fighting. This year Finns have taken part in only a few exchanges of fire.
      The ISAF forces do not keep records of enemy casualties. The Finnish forces also do not report on casualties inflicted on the other side.
     
Swedish Colonel Rickard Johansson, the commander of the area in the north of Afghanistan where the Swedish and Finnish forces patrol, says that it is hard to confirm the number of victims.
      “The rebels often take their wounded or dead comrades away from the area”, Johansson says.
      ISAF is primarily a crisis management force, although it is generally referred to in Finland as a peacekeeping operation.
     
Afghanistan is one of the worst places where Finnish peacekeepers have operated in recent years. The area of operations where Finnish and Swedish soldiers are deployed is nevertheless considered to be among the safest in Afghanistan. Most patrols and other tasks conducted by the ISAF forces proceed smoothly. Under their mandate, Finnish peacekeepers are required to shoot only in self-defence.
     
One of the most intense battles of the Finnish and Swedish force in recent times was a clash with rebels in the Chimatal area west of Mazar-i-Sharif in August.
      The situation began when the Finnish and Swedish force was fired upon. Swedish soldiers writing in their blogs reported that the intense shooting lasted 45 minutes.
      According to the blog report, one Swedish soldier was injured, and one Afghan police officer as well as four rebels were killed.
      A Finnish Army report on the event did not mention anything about casualties, or whether or not the Finnish soldiers fired their weapons.
     
A series of reports from Afghanistan is featured in our weekly articles which come online on Tuesday evening.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Grief becomes real for Finns in Afghanistan (17.2.2011)
  Finnish forces come under fire in Afghanistan (7.9.2010)
  Finnish peacekeeper killed in Afghanistan (23.5.2007)
  Afghan forces to take responsibility for zone now under Finnish supervision (28.10.2011)

Helsingin Sanomat