China’s foreign ministry reacted to the Pentagon’s findings regarding the US drone strike that killed civilians in late August in the capital city of Kabul.   

“Afghan lives matter” said Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson for the Chinese foreign minister. “We urge the US side to respect the lives and human rights of the Afghan people, disclose the truth of the incident to the public, bring perpetrators to justice and offer compensations to the family members of the victims.” 

Earlier, US Air Force Inspector General Lt. Gen. Sami D. Said told a newsroom that no violation of the law was revealed in the investigation that probed the attack that killed 10 civilians including seven children.  

"I had the luxury of time to review that data over weeks; they didn't," he said. "They had the same data, but they had to assimilate it, digest it, and make a decision in a matter of hours." 

The Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesman also expressed dissatisfaction with the United Nations for being silent and not investigating the war crimes committed during the 20-year US military presence in Afghanistan. “The international community has yet to see any investigation or accountability in the US,” he said.  

“According to legal and human rights (measures), this is a major issue that the international community should investigate,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.  

Wenbin said over 800,000 people including 335,000 civilians were killed in the past two decades in Afghanistan.  

“China raises this due to its competition with the US in Afghanistan as at the UN there is a controversy between them over human rights,” said Toriq Farhadi, an international relations expert.  

The US has repeatedly accused China of violating human rights regarding the millions of Muslims in Xinjiang state.