Ex-UK soldiers implicate colleagues in war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan
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Former servicemen report soldiers with "psychopathic" tendencies and killings of shackled inmates.
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British troops conduct a dawn foot patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, May 10, 2013.(AP)
Former members of the UK’s special forces have come forward with disturbing accusations of war crimes committed by their colleagues during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the execution of civilians and even a child, the BBC reported.
As part of Panorama – Special Forces: I Saw War Crimes, the former soldiers provided the BBC with graphic testimony describing routine killings of handcuffed prisoners and individuals shot while sleeping, along with claims that weapons were planted to cover up the crimes.
These new accusations span over a decade, far longer than the three-year period currently under investigation by a British public inquiry.
Back in January, a public inquiry revealed that British special forces executed Afghan boys "younger than 16" during operations in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. The charges are based on redacted testimonies from former soldiers and are part of an investigation into accusations of extrajudicial killings by special forces in Helmand province.
The allegations center on the activities of a SAS unit, referred to as UKSF1 in inquiry documents, which carried out "deliberate detention operations" that, according to lawyers representing Afghan families, resulted in over 80 deaths.
Testimonies from soldiers, heard in closed sessions last year and published on the inquiry’s website, suggest that SAS units were given a "golden pass to get away with murder" in Afghanistan.
Forces accused of 'serious psychopathic traits'
For the first time, members of the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Navy’s elite special forces unit, are being implicated, alongside the already scrutinized Special Air Service (SAS).
Veterans described a “mob mentality” among some operatives, referring to them as “lawless” and exhibiting “serious psychopathic traits.”
“They handcuffed a young boy and shot him,” one veteran of the SAS in Afghanistan recalled. “He was clearly a child, not even close to fighting age.”
The government has urged anyone with relevant evidence to come forward and submit it to the ongoing public inquiry.
The latest in a string of evidence
Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin, a member of the defence select committee, said the latest allegations mirror accounts shared by Afghan families.
“This is the latest in a long series of evidence that we have heard relating to war crimes committed by British special forces in Afghanistan,” he told BBC’s Today programme. “When we all joined the army and went overseas to serve, we did it because we were exercising legal judgment and exercising force in a legal way. And often when we did that we put ourselves in danger.”
He added, “To hear now that the elite soldiers were casting aside those rules deliberately lets us down.”
The BBC's Panorama also reported that David Cameron, during his time as prime minister, was repeatedly warned that British special forces were killing civilians in Afghanistan.
A spokesperson for Cameron dismissed allegations of a cover-up, decrying it as "total nonsense".
The allegations stem from interviews conducted by BBC Panorama investigators with more than 30 veterans who served in or alongside UK special forces during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Richard Bennett, the UN-appointed special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, said the claims underscore “the need for comprehensive accountability and justice for victims and their families.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence expressed full commitment to supporting the independent probe into the events that took place in Afghanistan.
The spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing allegations and urged anyone with evidence, including BBC Panorama, to submit it to the inquiry and police.
