US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has had to cancel a trip to Nato headquarters because he had to go to the hospital for the third time in three months.
Mr Austin, who is 70 years old, is in the intensive care unit at a hospital in the Washington DC area. The Pentagon said he has a serious problem with his bladder that needs urgent attention.
In a recent announcement, the Pentagon said they expect Mr Austin to be back at work by Tuesday.
His deputy is doing his job for now.
According to a statement from Walter Reed Military Medical Center officials, they don’t expect the person to stay in the hospital for a long time. This statement was released by the Pentagon on Monday. “We think the Secretary will be able to go back to his usual work tomorrow. ”
Mr Austin is in the hospital for a treatment that doesn’t involve surgery. He will be given medicine to make him unconscious while doctors work on his bladder problem. The Pentagon said he will be in the intensive care unit at Walter Reed for his whole stay but didn’t say how long that will be.
People are looking closely at Mr. Austin because his past trips to the hospital have been kept a secret.
He didn’t tell anyone in the US chain of command that he had prostate cancer in December or went back to the hospital in January.
Mr Austin’s bladder problem shouldn’t affect his recovery. He should still be able to fully recover as expected. Maj Gen Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, said that the outlook for his cancer is still very good.
The defense secretary was supposed to lead a meeting about Ukraine’s defense in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday. It would have been his first trip to another country since he first went to the hospital.
He was supposed to go to a Nato meeting led by Nato’s leader Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday.
Mr Austin joined the latest UCDG meeting online from his house on 23 January.
His office told the media that Mr Austin plans to have these upcoming meetings online.
On Sunday afternoon, the Pentagon said that Mr Austin was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland for treatment. The White House and senior defense officials were also told about this.
Later in the afternoon, the Pentagon said that Mr. Austin gave his job to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
On Sunday, the hospital said that the secretary had been moved to the critical care unit for extra support and careful watching.
Authorities have not said how long the first black US defense secretary will be in the hospital or when he might start working again.
Mr Austin’s doctors said that his bladder problem was not going to stop him from getting better from cancer.
Last year, Mr. Austin had an operation as part of his treatment for cancer.
He had to go back to the hospital on New Year’s Day because he had a lot of pain in his leg, hip, and stomach from complications after the procedure. The doctors found a bladder infection, and he stayed in the hospital for more than two weeks.
Top military leaders and the Biden administration were not aware of Mr. Austin’s serious illness until three days after he was readmitted to the hospital in January.
The defense secretary is the second in charge of the US military after the president, and is considered a very important member of the cabinet.
The situation made people worry about how open and safe things were, and caused three different investigations into how Mr. Austin dealt with his sickness and time in the hospital. Some important Republicans said he should be fired from his job.
At a meeting with reporters earlier this month, Mr. Austin said he was really sorry for not giving enough notice and that he had said sorry to President Joe Biden in person.
The defence secretary will speak at the end of the month about why he did not tell government leaders about something.
Tag: Lloyd Austin
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US Defence Secretary Austin calls off NATO summits after his hospitalisation
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US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin discharged from hospital
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is out of the hospital and will work from home while he gets better from treatment for prostate cancer.
His choice to wait before telling his co-workers and the White House about his sickness made people upset and led to three investigations.
The 70-year-old had to go to the intensive care unit on 1 January because of problems after a surgery in December.
His doctors said he should get better soon and be back to normal.
Doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said that Secretary Austin is doing well and getting stronger.
They said his prostate cancer was treated early and worked well. They also said his chances of getting better are really good and he doesn’t need any more treatment.
The defense secretary is an important person in the US military and is right under the president in the chain of command.
In December, Mr. Austin had a small surgery to treat his prostate cancer. He went back to the hospital on New Year’s Day because the procedure had caused problems.
High-ranking military officials and the White House did not find out that Mr. Austin was very sick until three days after he was readmitted.
The fact that it was kept secret raised worries about security and transparency. As a result, three investigations have been started to look into how his health crisis was managed.
President Joe Biden said he still trusts his secretary to lead, but he wishes the secretary had been more honest about how sick he was.
Mr Austin said sorry for not telling people the right information.
He continued to work in his job while he was getting better. Last week, Mr. Austin gave permission for many attacks on Houthi fighters in Yemen from his hospital bed in the Red Sea.
On Monday, he said thank you to the doctors and nurses who took care of him.
“Now, as I keep getting better and working from home, I really want to get better soon and go back to the Pentagon,” he said.
The Pentagon said he can use secure communication to work from home. -
US Defence Secretary underwent surgery for prostate cancer
The White House said that President Joe Biden only found out on Tuesday that the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has cancer and is receiving treatment.
Mr Austin, who is 70 years old, went to the hospital on January 1st. After having surgery in December, he had some problems and had to go to the intensive care unit.
He got in trouble for not telling the higher-ups about it for a few days.
He said sorry for not making sure the public got the right information.
The delay in telling the White House about something important could be a problem for national security and causes questions about how open the Biden administration is being.
The defense secretary is an important person in the US military and works closely with the president.
The Pentagon said that Mr. Austin was still in the hospital on Tuesday. A person speaking for the hospital didn’t say when the patient would be able to leave.
“Secretary Austin is doing well and is in good spirits. He is in touch with his senior staff and has access to the necessary secure communication technology. He is also keeping an eye on day to day operations at the Department of Defense worldwide,” the spokesperson said.
The doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center found prostate cancer during Mr. Austin’s check-up in December 2023, and he needs treatment for it.
Mr Austin had a small surgery in the hospital on December 22nd to remove the cancer. He was put to sleep with medicine for this procedure.
He went back to Walter Reed on 1 January 2024 because he had some problems, and the doctors found out he had a urinary tract infection. The next day, he was moved to the intensive care unit for more treatment because he had abdominal fluid that was affecting his small intestines.
He never passed out or went under deep sleep for surgery. Mr Austin’s infection is gone and he is getting better. We expect him to fully recover, but it might take some time.
The doctors said that they found the cancer early and think he will get better.
On Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that President Biden was told that he has prostate cancer.
“He said no one at the White House knew Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning. ”
He said the president was worried about the secretary’s health at first, but admitted that the way it was communicated wasn’t great.
“Mr Kirby said things are not going as planned. ”
Mr Biden and Sec Austin haven’t talked since the weekend, based on what Mr.
Kathleen Hicks, the person who helps Mr. Austin, didn’t know he was in the hospital even though she was supposed to do some of his work.
During a meeting on Tuesday, the Pentagon’s spokesperson, Air Force Maj Gen Pat Ryder, did not say why Mr. Austin didn’t talk about his condition earlier.
“I don’t have that exactly,” he said, but mentioned that being diagnosed with prostate cancer is very personal. The Pentagon said that a important person was sick with the flu which caused the failure.
Mr Ryder said they are looking at how they let people know about hospital stays to try to do a better job next time.
On Tuesday, the boss at the White House told the president’s helpers to let him know if they can’t do their jobs. -
Israel will not assume civilian control over Gaza post-war – Defense Minister affirms
Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, reiterated that Israel will not assume civilian control over Gaza post-war.
Emphasizing the pre-war objectives, Gallant expressed the commitment to dismantling Hamas entirely and rescuing the 129 hostages still held in Gaza. Responding to questions about ongoing operations, he stated that Israeli forces will maintain varying levels of intensity, possibly escalating sooner in the north.
Gallant highlighted adherence to international law, defending values, and minimizing harm to civilians.
While allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, he identified the critical issue as the presence of hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
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Man who was sacked ‘for speaking in Hindi’ sues US company
A US military business is being sued by an Indian-American engineer who claims his dismissal was the result of a coworker overhearing him speaking Hindi in the workplace.
Anil Varshney has accused Parsons Corporation of “unlawful discriminatory actions” in a complaint that was filed in a court in Alabama.
The coworker allegedly fraudulently reported him for breaking “security regulations” while he was on the phone with a dying relative in India, according to him.
The claims have been refuted by Parsons.
In a statement reaching the media, it claimed that Mr. Varshney had been fired for “several security violations, including using Facetime on his personal phone in a government-controlled worksite among other previous security violations where such actions are prohibited and pose risks to national security.”
Additionally, the business stated that the “series of documented improper conduct” was against both company and governmental standards.
Additionally, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is identified as the legal representation for the nation’s Missile Defence Agency (MDA) in the case, which was filed in the Northern District of Alabama.
The lawsuit claims that Mr. Varshney, 78, worked for Parsons between July 2011 and October 2022.
It claims that in September of this year, he was talking to his dying brother-in-law in an empty cubicle at work “for about two minutes” when a coworker noticed him and reported him to corporate officials.
According to Mr. Varshney, he checked that there were no “classified materials or anything else pertaining to the MDA or Parsons’ work anywhere near him” before making the call.
He asserts that the business sacked him in October after accusing him of committing “a serious security violation” despite the fact that there was no policy prohibiting the conversation and there had been no inquiry.
It continues, “Worse, they barred him from future [MDA] employment, putting a stop to his career and life of service to MDA and the US government.
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US Defense Secretary warns of devastating Taiwan war, criticizes China at summit
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned that a war over Taiwan would be “devastating” and have an impact on the world economy “in ways we cannot imagine.” Austin also reaffirmed US support for the island democracy.
“Conflict is not inevitable nor imminent. Austin made his statements at the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting on Saturday, which is being attended by delegates from dozens of nations, including China. “Deterrence is strong today – and it’s our job to keep it that way,” Austin added.
“Maintaining tranquilly and stability in the Taiwan Strait is important for the entire world. It is necessary for the safety of global supply chains and commercial shipping routes. Additionally, the freedom of navigation everywhere. There is little doubt that a confrontation in the Taiwan Strait would be catastrophic.
In a question and answer session after his speech, Austin added: “Conflict in the Taiwan Strait would affect the global economy in ways we cannot imagine.”
China’s ruling Communist Party claims Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and its increasingly frequent military exercises near to and around the island have raised concerns about how far it will go to realize that claim. China’s leader Xi Jinping has pointedly not ruled out the use of force.
Shortly after Austin spoke on Saturday, Chinese People’s Liberation Army Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng told China’s state broadcaster CCTV that the US defense chief’s comments on Taiwan were “completely wrong.”
Jing accused Washington of trying to “consolidate hegemony and provoke confrontation,” adding that US actions were damaging regional peace and stability.
Late Saturday afternoon, a US Navy spokesperson said US and Canadian warships were sailing through the Taiwan Strait while the discussions were going on in Singapore.
The transit by the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon and frigate HIMCS Montreal was routine and occurred “through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” US Navy spokesperson Lt. Kristina Wiedemann said in a statement.
“Cooperation like this represents the centerpiece of our approach to a secure and prosperous region where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” the statement added.
Austin’s comments earlier came at a tense time for relations between the US and China, as China recently rejected an offer from Austin to meet at the summit in Singapore, citing US sanctions on Chinese officials and companies.
Austin addressed the lack of communication in his speech on Saturday, saying that he is “deeply concerned” that the People’s Republic of China “has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management.”
“For responsible leaders, the right time to talk is anytime. The right time to talk is every time. And the right time to talk is now,” Austin said. “Dialogue is not a reward. It is a necessity.”
Austin noted that he and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu greeted each other with a smile at a banquet Friday night, but called on Beijing to do more.
“A cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for serious engagement,” he said.
Throughout his speech, Austin listed off ways that the US is partnering with allies in the region, saying that those partnerships are bringing the region closer and making it “more stable and resilient.”
Austin reaffirmed that the US will “continue to stand by our allies and partners as they uphold their rights,” and maintain “our vigorous, responsible presence across the Indo-Pacific.”
Criticizing China for its “alarming number of risky intercepts of US and allied aircraft” in international airspace, Austin added that the US would support allies and partners against “coercion and bullying.”
“We do not seek conflict or confrontation,” Austin said. “But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion.”
Austin reaffirmed US readiness in the region.
“The way that you deter any misguided decisions is by having a combat-credible military,” he said in answer to a question, adding that the US “will be ready no matter what happens.”
Drew Thompson, a senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said Austin laid out a “positive and inclusive” vision for the region, adding that it is a vision that has benefited Beijing for decades.
The next move will be Beijing’s. Defense Minister Li addresses the Shangri-La forum on Sunday morning.
“It will be interesting to see how General Li responds tomorrow,” Thompson said.
“In many ways the door is open for China to engage cooperatively with the US and other countries in the region to contribute to stability,” he said.
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US tracking alleged Chinese spy balloons
The US is keeping tabs on a possible Chinese surveillance balloon that has recently been seen flying over important locations.
Defense officials stated that they had no doubt that China was the owner of the “high-altitude surveillance balloon.” Most recently, it was spotted flying over Montana in the west.However, military authorities decided against shooting it down due to worries about the risk of falling debris.
China is yet to respond.
Canada announced on Friday that it was keeping an eye on “a possible second incident” involving a surveillance balloon, but it did not identify the possible perpetrator. According to the statement, it closely collaborates with the US to “protect Canada’s sensitive information from threats from foreign intelligence.”
The object flew over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and through Canada before appearing over the city of Billings in Montana on Wednesday, officials said.
A senior defence official speaking on condition of anonymity said the government prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, in case the White House ordered the object to be shot down.
Top military leaders, including Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, met on Wednesday to assess the threat. Mr Austin was travelling in the Philippines at the time.
Montana, a sparsely populated state, is home to one of only three nuclear missile silo fields in the country, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, and officials said the apparent spy craft was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.
But they advised against taking “kinetic action” against the balloon because of the danger falling debris might pose to people on the ground.
The defence official, however, said there was no “significantly enhanced threat” of US intelligence being compromised because American officials “know exactly where this balloon is and exactly where it’s passing over”.
He added that there was also no threat to civilian aviation as the balloon was “significantly” above the altitude used by commercial airlines.
The official said the balloon is unlikely to give much more information than China can already collect using satellites.
The US had raised the matter with Chinese officials in their embassy in Washington DC and in Beijing, the official added.
During Thursday’s briefing at the Pentagon, officials declined to disclose the aircraft’s current location. They also refused to provide more details of the object, including its size.
“There have been reports of pilots seeing this thing even though it’s pretty high up in the sky,” the unnamed defence official said. “So you know, it’s sizable.”
They added that such surveillance balloons had been tracked in the past several years, but this one was “appearing to hang out for a longer period of time this time around”.
It confused social media users in Montana, with some posting images of a pale, round object high in the sky. Others reported seeing US military planes in the area, apparently monitoring the object.
Billings office worker Chase Doak told the Associated Press news agency that he noticed the “big white circle in the sky” and went home to get a better camera.
“I thought maybe it was a legitimate UFO,” he said. “So I wanted to make sure I documented it and took as many photos as I could.”
Chinese state media has not reported on the incident, but it is being widely discussed on Chinese social media, with many amused at the reported use of balloons for surveillance.
“We have so many satellites, why would we need to use a balloon,” wrote one user on Weibo.
Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, slammed China’s alleged balloon.
“The level of espionage aimed at our country by Beijing has grown dramatically more intense & brazen over the last 5 years,” he tweeted.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, a Republican, said in a statement that he had been briefed on the “deeply troubling” situation.
Speaking at an unrelated event in Washington DC on Thursday, CIA Director William Burns made no mention of the balloon, but called China the “biggest geopolitical challenge” currently facing the US.
The alleged spy craft is likely to increase tensions ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China next week. It will be the first visit to the country by a Biden administration cabinet secretary.
The top US diplomat will be in Beijing to hold talks on a wide range of issues, including security, Taiwan and Covid-19.
He will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Balloons are one of the oldest forms of surveillance technology. Compared to other airborne surveillance devices, they can be operated cheaply without personnel while remaining airborne for long periods of time.
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US Democrats call for suspension of aid to Peru due to a “pattern of repression”
Democrats in the US House of Representatives have written a letter condemning the violent crackdown on protesters in Peru.
The Biden administration has been urged to halt all security assistance to Peru due to a “pattern of repression” against antigovernment protests that has resulted in more than 50 civilian fatalities by a group of Democrats in the US House of Representatives.
They requested in a letter shared with The Associated Press on Monday that the Biden administration halt its security assistance until it can certify that the crackdown in Peru has ended and the Peruvian officials accountable for violations of human rights have been brought to justice.
This week, Peru’s foreign minister is seeking international assistance for President Dina Boluarte’s government, which is coming under increasing pressure.
Peru’s foreign minister is in Washington, DC, this week seeking international support for President Dina Boluarte’s increasingly besieged government. Pressure has been mounting on Boluarte, formerly the vice president under ex-President Pedro Castillo, to resign the post she inherited last month when Castillo was impeached and arrested for his ill-fated attempt to close Peru’s Congress.
“Security forces have indiscriminately responded with almost no regard for protestors’ human rights,” according to the letter, which was signed by 20 mostly progressive House Democrats. “Rather than working to deescalate tensions, the Boluarte government has substantially increased tensions — including classifying protesters as ‘terrorists’ and limiting citizens’ right of movement.”
The US provides more than $40m annually to Peru in security assistance, according to the Washington Office on Latin America, a research nonprofit. The vast majority is aimed at helping Peru counter drug trafficking.
While protesters were initially demanding Castillo’s release from jail, the unrest has spread across the country, galvanising the support of many poor, Indigenous Peruvians who have benefitted little from Peru’s mining-driven economic boom.
Protesters demand that both Boluarte and Congress stand down and that new elections be held this year. Legislators rejected that on Friday. But after another protester died and Boluarte urged them to reconsider, Congress narrowly agreed on Monday to debate a proposal to hold elections in October, with 66 votes in favour, 49 opposed and six abstentions.
Meanwhile, as the protests stretch into their second month, beleaguered security forces have become more forceful.
Among the incidents cited in the letter, organised by Representative Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, was the national police raid on student dormitories at San Marcos University in Lima, which included the mass arrest of nearly 200 people. That shocked many Peruvians because campuses have long been off-limits to security forces except when crimes are being committed.
The campus invasion drew sharp condemnation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which said it collected testimony from civil society groups who alleged law enforcement officers invaded the bedrooms of student leaders, slung racist remarks at Indigenous activists, and forced women to strip naked and do squats.
Officials from the United Nations and European Union have strongly condemned what they consider the disproportionate use of force. The Biden administration has been more measured, calling for impartial investigations into abuses while also expressing support for Boluarte’s efforts to restore calm and seek a political solution.
Amid the unrest, outgoing US Ambassador Lisa Kenna announced an additional $8m in US support for coca eradication efforts in the remote Upper Huallaga valley, part of the Amazon basin in Peru. Kenna has also met with the defence minister and other Cabinet members.
Such actions send an “ambiguous message”, according to the letter, which was also signed by representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, a longtime voice for human rights in Latin America.
“The US government can and must do more,” they wrote. “We believe our proposed actions would send a powerful signal in support of fundamental rights and help promote effective engagement for a political resolution.”
A copy of the letter was also sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
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Ukraine war: Neither the US encouraged nor enabled Kyiv to strike inside Russia – Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says, Washington has “neither encouraged nor enabled” Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia.
He spoke shortly after Moscow accused Kyiv of carrying out drone attacks on three Russian airfields, two of which were hundreds of miles away from Ukraine.
Ukraine has made no comment on the matter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned the United States and its allies not to cross “red lines” by supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons.
The US-led Nato military alliance has ruled out providing such arms to Kyiv, amid concerns that this could lead to a major escalation with a nuclear-armed Russia that invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
Two Russian airfield explosions were reported on Monday, in the Ryazan and Saratov regions. The sites house strategic bombers used to carrying out regular missile attacks on Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure.
Russia said there was another attack was on Tuesday, in the Kursk region that borders Ukraine.
Russia’s latest missile attack on Ukraine was on Monday, when 70 rockets were fired on targets across the country. Four people were killed, local officials said.
Millions of people across the country are now without electricity and running water, raising fears people may die of hypothermia in sub-zero temperatures.
At a briefing on Tuesday, Mr Blinken accused Russia of “trying to take out the civilian infrastructure that is allowing people to have heat, to have water, to have electricity”.
He said Moscow was now “weaponising winter” and “that is the daily and nightly reality in Ukraine”.
“We have neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia, but the important thing is to understand what Ukrainians are living through every day with the ongoing Russian aggression against their country.
He said he was determined that Ukrainians have “the equipment that they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom.”
Speaking alongside him, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed that the US would not prevent Ukraine from developing its own long-range strike capability.
“The short answer is no. We are absolutely not doing that,” Mr Austin said, adding that Washington had already given Ukraine more than $19bn (£16bn) in security assistance.
In other developments on Tuesday:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops in the eastern Donetsk region where fierce fighting has been going for weeks
- In the evening, one person was injured in Russian strikes in the central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, local officials said
- Russian-installed officials in the city of Donetsk – controlled by Moscow since 2014 – said six people were killed in Ukrainian shelling
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US Air Force unveils new B-21 Raider nuclear stealth bomber
The US Air Force has unveiled its newest nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21, which will gradually replace aircraft first flown in the Cold War.
The first new bomber in 30 years could cost nearly $700m (£569m) each and can carry nuclear and conventional weapons.
As expected, specific details of the aircraft remain shrouded in secrecy.
But US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was “a testament to America’s enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation”.
The B-21 Raider was unveiled during a ceremony on Friday at manufacturer Northrop Grumman’s facility in California.
Mr Austin said the plane would offer significant advances over existing bombers in the US fleet, stating that “even the most sophisticated air defence systems will struggle to detect the B-21 in the sky”.
“Fifty years of advances in low-observable technology have gone into this aircraft,” he said.
He added that the plane was also built with an “open system architecture,” which allows for the incorporation of “new weapons that haven’t even been invented yet”.
While the potential for an uncrewed flight was not mentioned during the ceremony, a US Air Force spokeswoman said the aircraft was “provisioned for the possibility, but there has been no decision to fly without a crew”.
The first flight by a B-21 is expected to take place next year.
It will eventually replace the B-1 and B-2 models and the fleet is estimated to cost $203bn (£165m) to develop, buy and operate over 30 years, according to Bloomberg.
Six planes are currently in production, the manufacturer said, adding they would feature the “next generation of stealth” and that it is employing unspecified “new manufacturing techniques and materials”.
The US Air Force is planning to acquire at least 100 of the aircraft.
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At least 64 children have been killed in UK military operations in Afghanistan
The UK government has paid out for at least four times the number of Afghan children killed than it previously admitted.
In addition to the 16 publicly acknowledged children, compensation payments have been made to 64 others.
Between 2006 and 2014, all were killed in fighting involving UK forces.
The new figures are the result of Freedom of Information Act requests made by the charity Action on Armed Violence (AOAV).
The most common causes of death listed were airstrikes and being caught in crossfire.
According to AOAV, the number of civilian deaths caused by British forces is likely to be underestimated.
Of those deaths that have been recorded, the actual number of children killed could actually be as high as 135, because some of the fatalities are described in Ministry of Defence (MoD) documents merely as sons and daughters – with ages and circumstances of deaths not always included.
AOAV says it is possible some of those 135 were adults, but the likelihood of them having been under 18 is high because of the very young average age in Afghanistan.
Most of the 881 fatality claims made to the British were rejected and only a quarter received compensation.
Among those which were successful was one for eight members of the same Afghan family, killed in a coalition airstrike on a village in the Nawa district of Helmand in May 2009.
A man asked for compensation for the deaths of his nephew, his nephew’s two wives and their five children.
It took 144 days to settle the claim, for which he was awarded £7,205 ($8,260 using current exchange rate).
In total, the MoD paid out £688,000 for 289 Afghan civilian deaths between 2006-14.
AOAV says claimants were often required to provide photos, birth certificates as well as supporting letters before being paid and many were formally interviewed by British personnel to confirm they had no Taliban affiliation.
Previous Freedom of Information requests show UK payments for deaths in Afghanistan have varied widely. In some cases, individuals received more for the loss of property or livestock than family members.
In a statement, the MoD said: “Any civilian death during conflict is a tragedy, more so when children and family members are involved.”
It said although its forces try to minimise injury to civilians, “regrettably it can never be entirely eliminated”.
But Iain Overton, director of charity AOAV, criticised the lack of transparency over the deaths – with it having taken researchers years to obtain the information from the MoD.
He also said the lack of debate around the deaths raised questions as to whether lessons had been learned.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, UK soldier in southern Afghanistan, August 2007 Human rights groups and charities have repeatedly criticised both the US and UK over the way they investigate and report civilian casualties in military operations.
The MoD admits to just one civilian death caused by an RAF airstrike during its bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
In contrast, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin recently ordered a major review of the way the Pentagon investigates civilian casualties. It came after a US airstrike during the withdrawal from Kabul last year – which killed 10 civilians.
At first, the US claimed it had been targeting extremists, but journalists on the ground found evidence that all those killed were civilians.
The US Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan includes hiring more than 150 military staff to focus on mitigating harm to civilians, as well as better reporting and data collection of such incidents.
The MoD said it was following the progress of the US review, but has not committed to any changes in the way it investigates or reports civilian deaths.