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Inquiry into Law of Armed Conflict breaches awaits public distribution
An inquiry into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan by Australian special forces delivered its final report into possible breaches of the Law of Armed Conflict and while the public knows the details are “uncomfortable”, they will have to wait to learn just how much.
Naomi Neilson
The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) has provided defence chief Angus Campbell with a final report from an inquiry that looked into the allegations and rumours that members of a Special Operations Task Force breached Law of Armed Conflict during a period of struggle between 2005 and 2016.
“I intend to speak about the key findings once I have read and reflected on the report,” said Mr Campbell, noting that the “welfare and other support services are available to those affected by the Afghanistan inquiry” during the course of its examinations.
Earlier this year, footage from a helmet camera emerged showing an Australian soldier standing over an unarmed Afghanistan civilian and asking his superior if he wanted to “drop this c**t”. The soldier was then shown to have shot the man and walked away.
Other leaks suggested that Afghanistan civilians were used as “target practice” as the special forces troops operated with a sense of “impunity, elitism and recklessness”.
The IGADF has investigated dozens of incidents that could constitute war crimes and may make referrals to the Australian Federal Police for potential criminal prosecutions.
More to come.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
