US Urged to Carry Out ‘Rigorous’ Inquiry Into Afghan War Crimes Claims

Activists have called on US authorities to carry out a “rigorous and thorough” investigation into claims that an American Special Forces Unit committed war crimes by killing 18 Afghan civilians.

The call comes after US officials re-opened their inquiry into the deaths, amid allegations the Special Forces Unit, known as the ‘A-Team,' were responsible for killing Afghan civilians, along with instances or torture and enforced disappearances between November 2012 and February 2013.

The unit is alleged to have killed up to 18 Afghan civilians in the Nerkh and Maidan Shahr districts of Afghanistan's central-eastern Wardak province, while an Amnesty International (AI) report looking into the deaths found "abundant and compelling evidence of war crimes," along with an overall lack of accountability from international forces when it came to civilian deaths.

US Military Justice System ‘Deeply Flawed'

The AI report also concluded that the US military justice system was "deeply flawed" and that it didn't provide adequate opportunities for the families of victims to seek justice.

It found that in the 10 cases under investigation, which related to the deaths of 140 civilians, no one had been held responsible, while others interviewed by researchers claimed they had been tortured, with electric shocks, near-drowning techniques and severely beatings used.

AI Asia director Richard Bennett said although he was pleased the US had decided to re-open their investigation into the deaths, the case had been handled incredibly poorly.

"This is a welcome but overdue move by US military authorities. It is shocking that the Afghan victims' family members are still waiting for justice, despite overwhelming evidence that the Nerkh and Maidan Shahr killings amounted to war crimes."

He also placed pressure on the US Army Criminal Investigation Command to carry out an objective inquiry, with AI raising concerns about what it believes to be numerous flaws in the US military justice process.

"The investigators must carry out a rigorous and thorough inquiry, including interviews with former prisoners detained by the unit and family members of those who were killed. It is also crucial that family members are kept informed as the investigation progresses.

"This case, albeit extremely serious, is one of many. We have seen again and again how the US military justice system fails to investigate and prosecute serious violations of international humanitarian law in a prompt, fair and impartial manner."

Calls for Judicial System Overhaul

Critics have called for an overhaul of the US military's judicial practices, arguing in favor of appointing civilians who don't have links to the military to make prosecutorial decisions when dealing with cases involving civilian casualties.

Washington has faced increased criticism over its investigations into atrocities committed in war zones, with Dr. David Gibbs from the University of Arizona telling Sputnik that there was a tendency to cover up military errors.

"They [military atrocities] are certainly much more common than we hear about them," he said.