Monitoring Desk
LONDON: The United Kingdom (UK) has initiated an independent probe into accusations of illegal killings by British forces in Afghanistan more than ten-year ago, the country’s defense ministry said on Thursday. The inquiry headed by a senior judge will start early in the upcoming year.
UK Defense Ministry
The Special Air Service (SAS) troops were accused of killing dozens of citizens in Afghanistan in suspicious conditions, but the military chain of command concealed it. According to BBC, unarmed Afghan civilians were shot dead in cold blood by SAS forces during night-time raids, and arms were planted on them (Afghans) to justify the crimes.
In a statement, the UK defense ministry said that they will also examine the competence of the response of the Ministry of Defence to the concerns raised about the troops’ conduct and make assessments to learn.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that the Ministry of Defence took several decisions to make changes to deal with allegations of wrongdoing and also established Defense Serious Crime Unit.
The BBC’s investigation had identified 54 Afghans shot dead in suspicious conditions by one SAS unit during 6 months in Helmand, Afghanistan.
UK Law and Afghan families
BBC reported that senior officials like General Mark Carleton-Smith, who were heads of UK Special Forces at that time, knew the concerns about the operations but they failed to report it to military police.
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BBC said that it is a crime for commanding officials to fail to inform the military police if they (officers) become aware of potential war crimes as per UK law governing the armed forces.
The families of eight persons, who allege they were killed by British troops in two separate raids in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012, lauded the announcement to conduct a probe. The families hoped that those responsible will one day be held accountable.
