There is “credible evidence” that Australian elite soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan war, a long-awaited report has found.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has released findings from a four-year inquiry into misconduct by its forces.
It said 19 current or former soldiers should be investigated by police over the killings of “prisoners, farmers or civilians” between 2009 and 2013.
The ADF blamed crimes on an unchecked “warrior culture” among some soldiers.
The inquiry – conducted by Major Gen Justice Paul Brereton – conducted interviews with more than 400 witnesses. It also found evidence that:
- Junior soldiers were told to get their first kill by shooting prisoners, in a practice known as “blooding”;
- Weapons and other items were planted near Afghan bodies to cover up crimes;
- An additional two incidents could constitute a war crime of “cruel treatment”.
Afghanistan said it had been assured by Australia that it was committed to “ensuring justice”.
What did the report find?
It said 25 special forces soldiers had taken part in unlawful killings directly or as “accessories”, across 23 separate incidents.
ADF chief General Angus Campbell said none of the incidents could be “described as being in the heat of battle”.
“None were alleged to have occurred in circumstances in which the intent of the perpetrator was unclear, confused or mistaken,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Gen Campbell said there was alarming evidence that some Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers had taken “the law into their own hands”.
“The report notes that the distorted culture was embraced and amplified by some experienced, charismatic and influential non-commissioned officers and their proteges, who sought to fuse military excellence with ego, elitism and entitlement,” he said.
BBC