As Afghanistan war crime report gains attention,  Australian army to discharge 13 soldiers

A week after the discharge of a damning report that exposed that Australian forces had unlawfully killed helpless Afghan civilians and waged a marketing campaign to cowl up the slaughter, the navy has begun proceedings to dismiss 13 troopers serving within the pressure. At an informative convention on November 27, the chief of the Australian military Lt. Gen. Rick Burr said that the troopers had been issued administrative motion notices in relation to the Afghanistan inquiry, which would terminate their service in two weeks unless they successfully appealed. 

A four-year review led by Maj. Gen. Justice Paul Brereton is reported to have uncovered cases of war crimes committed in Afghanistan by Australian armed forces. The inquiry revealed that Australian special forces officers, who were deployed as part of NATO in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2016, killed at least 39 people. The report has dubbed the killings as 'blooding', a practice where subordinates are asked by their seniors to execute prisoners in order to get their first kill in service. According to the report, there is evidence that victims were not combatants and in some case teenagers. 

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Media outlets quoted Barr saying, “Administrative motion consists of receiving a discover proposing to terminate the person’s service. The discovery permits the person a possibility to reply inside a minimal of 14 days”. However, Barr also added that nobody had been formally terminated. 

Further, the military chief also said that the due process must now be respected as the military looks to bring those responsible for wrongdoing. He added that Australia is committed to leading the inquiry and emerging from this stronger and more capable. “Each matter and individual circumstance will be considered on a case-by-case basis,” Barr said. 

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‘Deeply troubling’

Meanwhile, ever since the report has been released, it has garnered criticism from all over the world and demand for an independent inquiry into other forces that are deployed in Afghanistan, alongside the United States Army has been raised. Australian defence force chief General Angus Campbell too had to tender an apology to the families of the victims after the report was published last week. The report also attracted condemnation from Afghanistan's civil society, who said they "expected better from Australia”. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) director-general Robert Mardini described the findings of the report as "deeply troubling". Mardini also commended the Australian government's decision to take action on guilty commanders. 

(Image: AP) 

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