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Commander Angus Campbell, who was shocked by a yearlong investigation into the illegal behavior of soldiers in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, said that a “destructive” culture of impunity among elite soldiers had led to a string of killings and covert crimes.
“Some patrols have served justice, revealed stories, made up stories, told lies and killed prisoners,” Campbell said, adding that he sincerely apologized to the Afghan people.
“Among these shameful events are suspicious cases in which new members of a patrol were forced to shoot a prisoner so that that soldier would acquire the experience of the first murder, following a horrible practice called ‘baptism of blood,'” said the general. .
The soldiers then staged a fight to justify the incident, according to the investigation report.
The Army Inspector General released a shocking 465-page official investigation report, heavily edited, detailing dozens of killings “not in the heat of battle.”
The report recommends that the Australian Federal Police open an investigation against 19 people and that compensation be paid to the families of the victims.
Campbell went even further. Noting that individuals who had contributed to the unlawful killing of 39 people had infested the regiment, the armed forces and Australia, he announced that they would be investigated by the Special War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office.
Campbell also earned exemplary service medals from some Special Operations Forces soldiers who served in Afghanistan during 2007-2013.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, more than 26,000 Australian troops were sent to Afghanistan along with US and allied forces to fight the Taliban, al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups.
Australian fighting forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2013, but since then there have been a number of gruesome reports about the behavior of Australian elite special forces soldiers.
Among other things, there were reports that Australian soldiers killed a six-year-old boy during a raid on his family’s home, cut off the hand of a dead enemy and also shot a prisoner because there was too little room in the helicopter.
The government has been working for many years to prevent reports of alleged criminal conduct by soldiers from coming to light. The police had even launched an investigation into the journalists who made the information available to the public.
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