a long-awaited report says there is
credible evidence that australian elite
soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people
during the afghan war it has uncovered
what the head of australia's armed
forces says is a shameful record of a
warrior culture
among some soldiers he's apologized to
the afghan people
from sydney shaima khalil reports
these are australia's elite troops
risking their lives in afghanistan
their mission was to help the people
against the taliban insurgency
it's may 2012 and the soldiers of three
squadron sas
are heading north from their base but
this australian documentary
claimed unarmed civilians were
unlawfully killed by some of those
special forces
the target is an insurgent bomb maker
now after a four-year internal inquiry
the australian defense force has
revealed that what some of these
soldiers did on the battleground
could potentially be a war crime
these findings allege the most serious
breaches
of military conduct and professional
values
the killing the unlawful killing
of civilians and prisoners
is never acceptable the inquiry found
credible evidence that 39 afghan men and
teenagers
had been unlawfully killed allegations
include junior soldiers being coerced
into executing prisoners
to get their first kill in a practice
known as blooding
and that weapons were planted on victims
to make it look like the killings were
legitimate
the defense chief apologized to the
afghan people
and said the alleged violations would
have devastated the lives of families
and communities
causing immeasurable pain and suffering
and many know that suffering all too
well this man told us about the day his
brother was allegedly killed by
australian troops
we were fishing and having a picnic
around noon the foreigners carried out
their raid
they arrested my brother and took him to
a corner a few minutes later they shot
him in the head
three times and once in his stomach
once they'd left we went over and saw my
brother's dead body lying on the ground
a special investigator will now be
appointed to look at the findings
gather evidence and then present it to
the public prosecutor
it's a process that could take years
it may well take just as long for the
culture inside the defense force to
change
but the leaders know there is no other
choice if they were to restore the
military's tarnished image
shai mahalil bbc news sydney