AFGHAN SOLDIER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR FRENCH KILLINGS

July 17, 2012: An Afghan soldier has been sentenced to death for killing five French soldiers in a "green-on-blue" attack in Kapisa province in January, the defence ministry said.
The incident, in which the soldier turned his gun on his French colleagues, prompted France to speed up its planned withdrawal of troops from NATO operations in Afghanistan.
The man, Abdul Sabor, was sentenced to death by hanging in a military court in Pul-i-Chakri prison on Monday, a defence ministry source said.
"Yes, I can confirm it. His name is Sabor," said Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a ministry spokesman.
Four unarmed French soldiers were killed outright and 15 others were wounded as they jogged on their military base on January 20. A fifth French soldier died weeks later from his wounds.
The shooting underscored the difficulties facing NATO troops as they work alongside and train Afghan forces ahead of their planned withdrawal from the war-torn country by the end of 2014.
In the latest incident, three British soldiers were shot dead by a man in an Afghan police uniform in the southern province of Helmand earlier this month.
Their deaths took the green-on-blue toll this year to at least 26, in 18 such incidents.
Although Taliban insurgents claim some of the attacks, many are believed to be the result of cultural differences and antagonisms between Afghan soldiers and their Western counterparts.
It was not immediately clear whether the military court had established the motive behind Sabor's killing of the French soldiers.
He reportedly told security officials after his arrest that he acted in retaliation after a video came to
light of US Marines urinating on the corpses of dead Afghans.
Earlier this month, French troops handed over the key Afghan province of Kapisa to local forces, completing an important stage in the accelerated withdrawal from the war-torn country. (Sources: AFP, 17/07/2012)