COLD BLOODED MURDER
Aussie troops executed Afghan civilians in army initiation rituals, finds probe
— Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan, with senior commandos reportedly forcing junior soldiers to kill defenceless captives in order to “blood” them for combat, a four year investigation found.
Australia said on Thursday that 19 current and former soldiers will be referred for potential criminal prosecution for allegedly killing the 39 Afghan locals. While the report was heavily redacted, it included allegations that senior special forces personnel ordered the killing of unarmed Afghans. “There is credible information that junior soldiers were required by their patrol commanders to shoot a prisoner, in order to achieve the soldier’s first kill, in a practice that was known as ‘blooding’,” the report read. Once a person had been killed, those allegedly responsible would stage a fight scene with foreign weapons or equipment to justify their action, the report concluded.
The actions did not immediately come to light due to what the report concluded was a culture of secrecy and compartmentalisation in which information was kept and controlled within patrols. Detailing the findings of a long-awaited inquiry into the conduct of special forces personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, Australia’s General Angus John Campbell said there was credible information of 39 unlawful killings by 25 Australian Special Forces personnel in 23 separate incidents.
All of those kills were outside the “heat of battle”, Campbell said. “These findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values,” Campbell told reporters in Canberra. “The unlawful killing, of civilians and prisoners is never acceptable.” Following the recommendations of the report, Campbell said 19 current and former members of Australia’s military will be referred to a soon-to-be appointed special investigator to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to prosecute. —
canberra — 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 on 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, apologising “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 spe
Some patrols took the law into their own hands, rules were broken, stories concocted, lies told and prisoners killed. 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’. General Angus Campbell,
Chief of the Australian Defence Force
cial 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 Taleban, Al Qaeda and other Daesh 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.
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 on 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 Taleban to restate calls “for foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan”, Srinjoy Bose, an international relations lecturer at the University of New South Wales,said. —