Australian Military Involved In The Killing Of 39 Afghan Civilians According To War Crimes Reports

Australian Army (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Australian Special Military Forces are suspected of killing 39 Afghan civilians. In several cases his junior soldiers were caught brutally executing prisoners. After that they would make a "cover story" and bury the gun with the corpse.

As The Guardian proclaimed, for more than four years, Major General Paul Brereton investigated allegations that a small group in the elite Special Air Force and commando regiment killed and mistreated Afghan civilians. In its report, Brereton said the men had allegedly slit their throats, bragged about their actions, did not disclose the number of murders, and buried phones and guns in bodies to justify their actions.

Brereton described the special forces action as "shameful and profound humiliation" of the Australian Defense Force. Some of the incidents described in the report are particularly worrying. Evidence suggests junior soldiers were ordered by their superiors to execute prisoners in a brutal manner.

"Normally, the patrol commander would take someone under control and a junior member ... would then be directed to kill," the report found. "Cover stories were created for operational reporting purposes and to fend off scrutiny."

The head of the Australian Armed Forces, General Angus Campbell, vowed to follow up on the findings of the Brereton report which he described as embarrassing, deeply disturbing and dire about the behavior of Australian special forces. Campbell said he accepted all 143 of the recommendations, including referring to conducting a special investigation to consider possible criminal cases, because it was his job "to fix things".

Revoke the award

General Agus Campbell predicts a change in the army's organizational structure and awards review. Meanwhile, the meritorious designation given to the rotation of the Special Operations Task Group that served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013 will be withdrawn.

"To the people of Afghanistan, on behalf of the Australian Defense Force, I sincerely and unconditionally apologize for the wrong done by the Australian army," Campbell told a news conference in Canberra.

"And to the Australian people, I sincerely apologize for the wrongs committed by members of the Australian Defense Force," he said, adding that the majority of special forces "have not chosen to take this unlawful path."

The Australian military was deployed alongside troops from the United States (US) and other allies in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks.In the following years, a series of gruesome reports have emerged of the behavior of its elite special forces unit, ranging from a prisoner being shot dead to save space. in a helicopter to the murder of a six year old child in a house raid.

The US is also investigating possible war crimes in Afghanistan after the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorized an investigation earlier this year. The court will also investigate allegations against Afghan soldiers and armed Taliban fighters.