5 SAS members arrested in UK over suspected war crimes in Syria

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
6 Mar 2024 15:46

The case declares that the five members are accused of killing a "jihadist" in Syria two years ago, having used excessive force on him.

A British soldier with NATO-led Resolute Support Mission forces arrives at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, March 25, 2020 (AP)

The UK military police have arrested five members of the SAS (Special Air Service) over suspected war crimes committed during the war on Syria, while defense sources confirmed the accuracy of the arrest reports.

In response to the unraveling event, a Ministry of Defense spokesperson said, “We hold our personnel to the highest standards and any allegations of wrongdoing are taken seriously. Where appropriate, any criminal allegations are referred to the service police for investigation.”

The case states that the five members are accused of killing a "suspected jihadist" in Syria two years ago and are said to have used excessive force, although the soldiers continued to deny it, claiming they believed the man posed a legitimate threat, in an attempt to justify his killing.

It remains uncertain whether a prosecution will take place, but these arrests coincide with a public inquiry into SAS activities in Afghanistan, which have come under scrutiny as authorities look into claims that 80 Afghans were killed by the SAS.

If any court-martial proceedings prevail, the identity of the members will be revealed, and as of now, no SAS members have been identified in the Afghanistan public inquiry.

The inquiry was launched earlier in March to investigate allegations that the SAS killed 54 civilians in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011. The issue involves night raids in which men were repeatedly shot after getting separated from their families with SAS forces claiming that they had weapons in their possession.

Kristyan Benedict, a crisis response manager with Amnesty International, urged, “As a matter of principle, it’s vital that all members of the UK’s armed forces are fully answerable before the law."

Not so covert after all

The SAS have been deployed in Syria for the past 10 years, engaged covertly in allegedly fighting ISIS in the Middle Eastern country while pursuing other schemes on the side.

Back in May last year, a report by Action on Armed Violence revealed that the SAS have operated in at least 19 different countries over the last 12 years.

The UK special forces have been active in Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Russia, among other nations around the globe, as their secret operations are not publicly disclosed by the government's ministers.

The main activity highlighted was centered in Syria, as the report showed multiple events in which forces were deployed to aid terrorist groups against the country's legitimate government since 2012, as well as bombing missions in 2013 which the UK parliament eventually voted against.

In 2018, Matt Tonroe, a member of the SAS, was killed via an improvised explosive device in Syria and was officially reported as a soldier of the Parachute regiment in an attempt to disguise special forces activities in the area.

Only later was it revealed that Tonroe died after a grenade carried by a US soldier detonated in the vicinity.