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Amnesty International calls for urgent probe into alleged war crimes by UK’s SAS
Amnesty International on Wednesday described the BBC’s findings of alleged war crimes by UK Special Forces in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011 as horrific and called for an urgent investigation.
In a statement issued by the global watchdog, Zaman Sultani, Amnesty International’s South Asia Researcher, said: “Amnesty International demands an effective and transparent investigation into the allegations made against the UK Special Forces in Afghanistan, that delivers justice for victims and holds the perpetrators accountable.”
“The BBC’s findings are horrifying, and clearly depict an alarming level of impunity and lack of accountability of UK troops who operated in Afghanistan.
“The BBC’s reporting outlines unlawful killings, including deliberate killing of individuals after they were detained, targeting of civilians and fabricating evidence to justify the killing of unarmed men, pointing to potential war crimes having been committed.”
He also said the suggestion that there’s been a high-level cover-up compounds the moral outrage and suggests an unwillingness on the part of the UK to pursue independent and effective investigations into the allegations.
Zaman said: “The UK is obligated to urgently commence investigations into all allegations of war crimes involving its Special Forces, and any UK nationals who are suspected of individual criminal responsibility must be brought to justice in UK courts.
“If the UK is unwilling to bring cases against its own military, as it has shamefully demonstrated in relation to war crimes committed by its forces in Iraq, the ICC should do so.”
Zaman pointed out however that while the International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an investigation in Afghanistan the ICC has not initiated any investigations other then into the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).
He said this was despite “harrowing reports of war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed in Afghanistan by western militaries”, adding that this has led to accusations of double standards in its approach.
‘This episode also underscores just how damaging any move to remove human rights protections and responsibility from troops operating overseas would be. The UK Government must step away from the reprehensible proposal to replace the Human Rights Act before any more damage is done.’
On Monday, the BBC released details of its investigation into alleged war crimes. The investigation found new evidence of scores of secret killings by the SAS, and efforts by some of the most senior figures in UK Special Forces to conceal evidence of war crimes.
The BBC identified 54 people shot dead in suspicious circumstances by one SAS unit during one six month tour of Afghanistan. The youngest was described as just 15 years old when he was killed.
BBC also discovered that senior officers, including General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, failed to report the alleged murders and did not disclose the evidence held by UK Special Forces to the military police.
Hedayatullah Hamdard, head of the Natural Disaster Department in Baghlan, says at least 50 were killed on Friday afternoon due to floods in several districts of the province.
Hamdard added the figure is not total and that the death toll may increase.
Over the past two days, floods have also caused huge financial losses in Chaharsada and Murghab districts of Ghor province and two people including a child and an old man have disappeared.
Hundreds of acres of agricultural land were destroyed in Chaharsada district and about 50 livestock were also lost.
According to local officials in Ghor, around 50 residential houses in Chaharsada district are under floods.
Iranian officials say work is intensely underway on the implementation of plan to block the country’s eastern border with Afghanistan.
According to Iranian media, the commander of the Ground Forces of Iran spoke on Thursday at a ceremony in the city of Mashhad about the sealing of the country’s borders with Afghanistan.
Kioumars Heydari added: “According to the measures contemplated by the Islamic Republic, we are in the process of sealing the borders.”
He did not specify the exact timing for the completion of the border sealing plan between Iran and Afghanistan, but added: “Our estimate is that the sealing of the eastern border of the country will be completed as soon as possible.”
Afghanistan and Iran share more than 900 kilometers of common border.
Experts, meanwhile, believe that this will cause a change in dealings with Afghan immigrants.
The Islamic Emirate, however, says fencing on the borders of Iran and Afghanistan will proceed in coordination with the Afghan government.
According to experts, Iran is seeking to solve its security concerns and will spend a lot of money in the process of blocking the border but this border wall will be finished for the benefit of both countries, and drug trafficking and movement of terrorist groups will be at least under control.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan on Thursday rejected the statements of the Islamic Emirate regarding the use of Pakistan’s soil against Afghanistan by Daesh, calling the remarks as “unwarranted and irresponsible.”
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a press conference that instead of such statements, the Afghan authorities should take effective action against all terror groups, based in Afghanistan.
Earlier, the Pakistan Army claimed that last month’s suicide attack that killed five Chinese nationals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been planned in Afghanistan and had been carried out by an Afghan.
In reaction, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan, Inayatullah Khwarazmi, said that in an area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is under the security of the Pakistan Army, the killing of Chinese nationals is either the weakness of the security institutions or their cooperation with the attackers.
He also said: “We have cases where the Daesh entered Afghanistan from Pakistan, and Pakistani soil was used against our soil, and the attacks are planned in that country.”
Pakistan has repeatedly claimed that Afghan soil is being used in attacks against Pakistan, but this was the first time the Islamic Emirate accused Pakistan of not preventing Daesh from entering Afghanistan.
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