• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, January 22, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World Middle East

Australian Special Forces ‘Unlawfully Killed’ 39 Civilians in Afghanistan

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
11/19/20
in Middle East, World
Australian soldiers in Afghanistan

Australian soldiers in the Afghan town of Tarin Kowt in 2008. Photo: Petty Officer 1st Class John Collins

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Australia’s elite special forces “unlawfully killed” 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners, including summary executions as part of initiation rituals, according to evidence in a searing military inquiry now being referred to a special war crimes prosecutor.

A years-long internal investigation into military misconduct was released Thursday, prompting the Chief of the Australian Defence Force to admit a “destructive” culture of impunity among special forces leading to a string of alleged murders and cover-ups spanning years.

“Some patrols took the law into their own hands, rules were broken, stories concocted, lies told and prisoners killed,” General Angus Campbell said, apologizing “sincerely and unreservedly” to the people of Afghanistan.

“This shameful record includes alleged instances in which new patrol members were coerced to shoot a prisoner in order to achieve that soldier’s first kill, in an appalling practice known as ‘blooding’.”

The report also reported evidence that troops were engaged in “body count competitions”, and covered up unlawful killings by staging skirmishes, planting weapons and adding names to target lists retrospectively.

The military’s own inspector general produced the harrowing 465-page official inquiry into events between 2005 and 2016 that detailed dozens of killings “outside the heat of battle”. 

It recommended 19 individuals be referred to Australian Federal Police, compensation be paid to the families of victims, and the military makes a slew of reforms.

Campbell went a step further, saying those involved had brought a “stain” on their regiment, on the armed forces and on Australia, and would be referred to the office of the special investigator for war crimes.

He also moved to revoke distinguished service medals awarded to special operations forces who served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, more than 26,000 Australian uniformed personnel were sent to Afghanistan to fight alongside US and allied forces against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups.

Australian combat troops officially left the country in 2013, but since then a series of often-brutal accounts have emerged about the conduct of elite special forces units.

They range from reports of troops killing a six-year-old child in a house raid, to a prisoner being shot dead to save space in a helicopter.

‘Brutal truths’

Prime Minister Scott Morrison attempted to cushion the blow of the report, telling Australians last week to brace for the “honest and brutal truths” contained within the heavily redacted document, which censors many highly infammatory details.

Morrison also called his Afghan counterpart Wednesday to foreshadow “some disturbing allegations” that the government was taking “very seriously”.

The office of President Ashraf Ghani said Morrison had “expressed his deepest sorrow over the misconduct”.

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs labelled the actions detailed in the report as “unforgivable” but acknowledged its publication as an “important step towards justice”.

Last week, Morrison announced the appointment of a special investigator to prosecute the alleged war crimes, a move aimed at forestalling any prosecution at the International Criminal Court.

The revelations will “definitely” be used by the Taliban to restate calls “for foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan”, Srinjoy Bose, an international relations lecturer at the University of New South Wales, told AFP.

“I would imagine that the Australian presence in Afghanistan, for the coming weeks and months, will be afforded greater protection.”

The revelations are also a serious blow to the prestige of the country’s military, which is widely revered by Australians. 

Its historic campaigns — from Gallipoli in World War I to Kokoda in Papua during World War II — have played a crucial role in fostering the country’s identity, independent of colonial power Britain.

“It speaks to a failure that is bigger and deeper than the soldiers involved in the atrocities,” said John Blaxland of the Australian National University, which has close ties to the security establishment.

“It speaks to an inadequate sense of perspective on what we were committing our forces to do and the circumstances they would face.”

Australia’s government had spent years trying to suppress whistleblower reports of the alleged wrongdoing, with police even investigating reporters involved in bringing those accounts to light.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

People protesting against the controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong in 2019.
Democracy at Risk

US, Britain, Canada Express ‘Concern’ at Hong Kong Arrests

by Staff Writer
January 10, 2021
Conversion therapy has affected hundreds of thousands of individuals in the US.
World

More Than 300 Religious Leaders Urge Ban on ‘Conversion Therapy’

by Staff Writer
December 16, 2020
Security personnel outside the Kabul University in Kabul after a brutal attack on November 2, 2020.
Middle East

Afghan Forces Capture ‘Mastermind’ of Kabul University Attack

by Staff Writer
November 14, 2020
The head of the Afghan government delegation, Abdullah Abdullah, addresses the opening session of peace talks with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.
World

Afghan Violence Soars Despite Peace Talks: Watchdog

by Staff Writer
November 5, 2020
A flash flood affected villager pushes a bicycle along a road in Charikar, Parwan province, on August 26, 2020
Middle East

Flash Floods Kill More Than 70 in Afghanistan

by Staff Writer
August 26, 2020
Afghanistan children fly kites during a kite festival in Kabul, November, 2016
Middle East

Third of Afghans Estimated to Have Contracted Virus: Health Ministry

by Staff Writer
August 6, 2020
Next Post
US President-elect Joe Biden delivers a speech at The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware.

Why Biden Needs to Address America’s Humanitarian Policies

US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s Final Act of Narcissism

Recommended

A woman leaves after receiving the Covid-19 shot at the Al-Abbas Islamic Centre, which has been converted into a temporary vaccination center in Birmingham.

UK Imams Mobilize to Counter Covid Vaccine Disinformation

January 22, 2021
The EU's corruption watchdog has been investigating Frontex.

EU’s Frontex Says ‘No Evidence’ of Illegal Migrant Pushbacks

January 21, 2021
As members of the Covax facility, the poorest nations are expecting their first doses in February.

Covax: The Global Plan to Share Covid Vaccines

January 21, 2021
Vatican has vaccinated 25 people experiencing homelessness against the coronavirus.

Vatican Vaccinates Homeless Against Coronavirus

January 20, 2021
President Donald Trump sits alongside Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, during a meeting on the opioid epidemic in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on June 12, 2019.

Queen Rat Conway Swims for Safe Harbor: Too Little Too Late?

January 20, 2021
President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden at a COVID-19 tribute in DC on Tuesday.

In Washington, Biden Leads Tribute to 400,000 Covid Dead

January 19, 2021

Opinion

President Donald Trump sits alongside Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, during a meeting on the opioid epidemic in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on June 12, 2019.

Queen Rat Conway Swims for Safe Harbor: Too Little Too Late?

January 20, 2021
Medical personnel is given the Pfizer-Biontech Covid-19 corona virus vaccine at the Favoriten Clinic in Vienna, Austria, on December 27, 2020

The Vaccine Battle Highlights the Need to Communicate Science

January 20, 2021
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

January 13, 2021
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.

American Democracy Will Prevail

January 13, 2021
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

Riots at Capitol Hill: Darkness Before the Dawn?

January 8, 2021
Volunteers are given the Moderna vaccine on August 5, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan.

Who’s First-in-Line for the Vaccine? A Classic Problem in Medical Ethics

December 30, 2020
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post