AUSTRALIA MAY DISCHARGE AFGHAN WAR CRIMES-TIED SOLDIERS

Wed 17 March 2021:

Australian defense forces are planning to discharge its soldiers involved in war crimes in Afghanistan on “medical grounds,” local media reported on Wednesday.

According to the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph, a group of special forces soldiers facing dismissal due to the investigation into the Afghanistan war crimes has been told they can now be discharged on medical grounds.

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The Australian defense forces have notified Australian soldiers that they will not be sacked, the daily reported.

Last year, Australian authorities made public the investigation findings into at least 39 incidents of civilian killings committed by their special forces in Afghanistan.

The Brereton report, commissioned by the Australian Defense Force’s inspector-general, found “credible information” that the Australian soldiers murdered civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan.

According to the report, 25 current or former personnel were involved in serious crimes, either carrying out the offenses or being “accessories” to them.

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Following the report, Australian Defense Forces chief Gen. Angus Campbell offered an apology to Afghans as he shared the horrifying details of the investigation.

“To the people of Afghanistan, on behalf of the Australian Defense Force, I sincerely and unreservedly apologize for any wrongdoing by Australian soldiers. I have spoken directly to my Afghan counterpart Gen. [Yaseen] Zia to convey this message,” he had said in a televised speech.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had also promised to prosecute its soldiers for alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan.

“Given the likely allegations of serious and possibly criminal misconduct, the matters raised in the inquiry must be assessed, investigated, and, where allegations are substantiated, prosecuted in court,” Morrison said after the probe was released.