Human Rights Watch: The accounts are both shocking and horribly familiar. Soldiers acting as if they were above the law assault and murder civilians in a barbaric competition to outdo each other. New recruits compelled to prove themselves by killing. The victims are not enemies in battle but the elderly, men with disabilities, a farmer
Sputnik: It was reported that on the mission in Afghanistan an Australian trooper was pressured by higher-ranking soldiers from the Special Air Service Regiment to kill an unarmed elderly detainee. Click here to read more (external link). Related ‘Bad Taste Joke’: Analyst Explains Improper Demeanor of Aussies in Afghanistan
The Telegraph (UK): Australian soldiers who flew a Nazi swastika flag over their fighting vehicle in Afghanistan more than a decade ago were “wrong” and punished at the time, Australia’s prime minister said on Thursday, after a picture of the incident emerged. The flag was attached to a military jeep in the photo taken during a patrol in
9News (Australia): The nation’s top military leaders believe there is evidence Australian soldiers might be guilty of committing war crimes in Afghanistan. 9NEWS has confirmed an internal defence inquiry due in October will consider levelling criminal charges against a handful of elite special forces troops. Click here to read more (external link).
MOSCOW, June 9 (Sputnik) – Moscow condemns the reported war crimes committed by Australian servicemen during their mission in Afghanistan, urging the authorities to launch an objective investigation and hold those responsible to account, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a Saturday statement. On Thursday, The Sydney Morning Herald said, citing a confidential defense inquiry,
Press TV June 8, 2018 A report says Australia’s special forces have been accused of committing war crimes in Afghanistan and having a “disregard for human life” in the war-torn country. The secret file leaked on Friday reported some Australian troops had engaged in the “unsanctioned and illegal application of violence on operations” with “a disregard
VOA News / November 4, 2017 Phil Mercer SYDNEY — Thousands of people rallied in Melbourne Saturday in support of 600 men refusing to leave an Australian-run migrant camp in Papua New Guinea (PNG) that closed this week. The center on Manus Island was ruled “unconstitutional” by a court in PNG last year. Australia is steadfastly
Ayaz Gul VOA News October 30, 2017 ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Taliban claims the health condition of an American hostage, Kevin King, is rapidly deteriorating and he urgently needs better medical care. The 60-year-old King and his Australian colleague, Timothy Weeks, 48, were teaching at Kabul’s American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) before they were kidnapped at gunpoint
Reuters: Australia’s military watchdog has issued a public plea for information regarding rumours of possible war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan. The ABC reported in July on an alleged cover-up of the killing of an Afghan boy as well as hundreds of pages of leaked defence force documents relating to the secretive operations of the
VOA News / July 29, 2017 SYDNEY — An inquiry is looking into allegations an Australian Special Forces soldier shot dead a man in Afghanistan then planted a firearm on the body to make it look like the trooper had acted in self-defense. The probe is part of a far-reaching investigation of Australia’s elite fighting units.