The four-year investigation discovered that SAS soldiers frequently shot unarmed Afghan individuals during nighttime raids during the protracted conflict.
According to a BBC investigation, commandos in Britain’s elite SAS corps murdered at least 54 Afghans in questionable circumstances. The military chain of command covered up the issues.
The damning study has made it clear that the chain of command in the military covered up its reservations about these executions. simplealternatives.com The four-year investigation discovered that SAS soldiers frequently killed defenceless Afghan men “in cold blood”. In addition, the study claims that firearms covered up this terrible act.
Senior officers, including General Mark Carleton-Smith, the then-head of the UK Special Forces, were aware of SAS concerns about the missions but neglected to bring them to the attention of military police. IBBC investigaion claimed it. According to UK law controlling the armed services, if a commanding officer learns of possible war crimes, failing to alert the military police is a felony, the BBC reported.
The BBC show “Panorama,” which said its probe was based on court records, hacked emails, and its own journalists’ travel to sites of the operations in Afghanistan, declined to comment when asked about Carleton-retirement Smith’s last month as the head of the British army generally.
Insufficient evidence was found in earlier examinations of the actions of UK personnel in Afghanistan, according to the ministry of defence. The military police said in a statement to the BBC that “no new evidence has been submitted, but the service police will evaluate any allegations should new information come to light.”
“We will always hold the UK armed forces to the greatest standards. They served in Afghanistan with courage and professionalism.”
Police obstructed
A SAS force conducted a six-month patrol of Helmand province from November 2010 to May 2011. They killed 54 people in questionable circumstances, according to the Panorama investigation.
According to after-action reports, other officials were taken aback by the unit’s high death rate given that none of the SAS soldiers had reported getting hurt during alleged firefights with Taliban terrorists.
“On night raids, too many people were being killed, and the justifications weren’t credible. After being detained, a person shouldn’t pass away, “At special forces headquarters, a senior official told Panorama that.
“At HQ, it was alarming because it was occurring repeatedly. At the moment, it was obvious that there was a problem.”
Particularly concerning was the fact that all of the SAS bullet holes discovered at the scene of Afghan residential compounds following the raids were low down. It suggests that the suspects were lying on the ground.
The BBC said that several warnings were passed up the chain of command. However, the SAS squadron got the permission to complete its six-month deployment. It went for another deployment in 2012. The Royal Military Police began looking into more than 600 alleged offences committed by British personnel in Afghanistan in 2014. It includes many murders carried out by the SAS squadron.
However, RMP investigators claimed to the BBC that the British military “obstructed” them, and the probe was concluded in 2019. As the Royal Marines’ commander in Afghanistan in 2011, Colonel Oliver Lee told the programme that the claims were “extremely upsetting”. He called for a thorough public investigation.
There are many More allegations against British forces of mistreating Afghans. One SAS unit may have killed 54 afghans in one six-month tour of Afghanistan. No one has got to the justice yet.
