thedrifter
04-14-07, 06:15 AM
Report: Marines Broke International Law
Report: U.S. Marines Who Shot Civilians in Afghanistan Violated International Humanitarian Law
By FISNIK ABRASHI
The Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. Marine unit that shot its way out of a suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan last month violated international humanitarian law by using excessive force that left 12 civilians dead, a report released Saturday said.
Following the March 4 attack in Nangahar province, when an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines, the unit shot at vehicles and pedestrians in six different locations while driving along a 10-mile stretch of road, according to a report by Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission.
A U.S. military commander also determined that Marines used excessive force, and he referred the case for possible criminal inquiry.
The group's report was based on interviews with victims and their families, eyewitnesses, local community leaders, local and regional hospitals, as well as police.
"At least 12 people were killed and another 35 injured by the shooting, including several women and children," the 11-page AIHRC report said. "In failing to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets the U.S. Marines Corps Special Forces employed indiscriminate force," AIHRC said.
"Their actions thus constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law standards."
U.S. military officials said after the incident that the suicide attack was part of complex ambush, that included militant gunmen shooting at Marines, which may have caused some of the civilian casualties.
"There is some evidence at the immediate site of the incident to support this claim, but it is far from conclusive and all witnesses and Afghan government officials interviewed uniformly denied that any attack beyond the initial (suicide car bombing) took place," the report said.
AHIRC alleges that U.S. troops, serving with NATO-led International Security Assistance Force returned to the area after the bombing for an investigation and a cleanup operation, which involved removal of all bullet shells and cartridges.
AIHRC interviewed a member of Afghanistan's National Police criminal investigations office who said that his unit "made a full observation, 2.5 kilometers around the site of the incident, but ... ISAF forces had collected all shells, magazines, cartridges from the spot and we could not find any trace or sign of them."
The U.S. military officials were not immediately available to comment on the allegation.
The initial military investigation of the incident concluded that the Marines' response was "out of proportion to the threat that was immediately there," a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday in Washington.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe's results have not been released. The findings have been forwarded to U.S. Central Command, which has responsibility for U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The case has also been referred to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for a broader criminal inquiry, the official said.
"The investigation revealed the actions taken by some of the special operators in the convoy following the attack appear to warrant a further inquiry by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
Another official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initial military investigation concluded that there was a "reasonable suspicion" that the Marines violated the rules for the use of deadly force, and that crimes, possibly including homicide, may have been committed in the aftermath of the convoy being struck by a car bomb.
"We deeply regret the loss of life and casualties that resulted from the (suicide car bombing) and the actions that followed," said Lt. Col. Lou Leto, a spokesman for Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command of U.S. Central Command. "We will work to prevent similar events from occurring in the future."
Army Maj. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Command Central, began his investigation after taking the highly unusual step of ordering the unit of about 120 Marines out of Afghanistan.
The Marines are in a special operations unit that deployed from Camp LeJeune, N.C., in January with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. After Kearney ordered them out of Afghanistan they returned to the ships of the 26th in the Persian Gulf.
Ellie
Report: U.S. Marines Who Shot Civilians in Afghanistan Violated International Humanitarian Law
By FISNIK ABRASHI
The Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. Marine unit that shot its way out of a suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan last month violated international humanitarian law by using excessive force that left 12 civilians dead, a report released Saturday said.
Following the March 4 attack in Nangahar province, when an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines, the unit shot at vehicles and pedestrians in six different locations while driving along a 10-mile stretch of road, according to a report by Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission.
A U.S. military commander also determined that Marines used excessive force, and he referred the case for possible criminal inquiry.
The group's report was based on interviews with victims and their families, eyewitnesses, local community leaders, local and regional hospitals, as well as police.
"At least 12 people were killed and another 35 injured by the shooting, including several women and children," the 11-page AIHRC report said. "In failing to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets the U.S. Marines Corps Special Forces employed indiscriminate force," AIHRC said.
"Their actions thus constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law standards."
U.S. military officials said after the incident that the suicide attack was part of complex ambush, that included militant gunmen shooting at Marines, which may have caused some of the civilian casualties.
"There is some evidence at the immediate site of the incident to support this claim, but it is far from conclusive and all witnesses and Afghan government officials interviewed uniformly denied that any attack beyond the initial (suicide car bombing) took place," the report said.
AHIRC alleges that U.S. troops, serving with NATO-led International Security Assistance Force returned to the area after the bombing for an investigation and a cleanup operation, which involved removal of all bullet shells and cartridges.
AIHRC interviewed a member of Afghanistan's National Police criminal investigations office who said that his unit "made a full observation, 2.5 kilometers around the site of the incident, but ... ISAF forces had collected all shells, magazines, cartridges from the spot and we could not find any trace or sign of them."
The U.S. military officials were not immediately available to comment on the allegation.
The initial military investigation of the incident concluded that the Marines' response was "out of proportion to the threat that was immediately there," a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday in Washington.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe's results have not been released. The findings have been forwarded to U.S. Central Command, which has responsibility for U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The case has also been referred to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for a broader criminal inquiry, the official said.
"The investigation revealed the actions taken by some of the special operators in the convoy following the attack appear to warrant a further inquiry by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
Another official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initial military investigation concluded that there was a "reasonable suspicion" that the Marines violated the rules for the use of deadly force, and that crimes, possibly including homicide, may have been committed in the aftermath of the convoy being struck by a car bomb.
"We deeply regret the loss of life and casualties that resulted from the (suicide car bombing) and the actions that followed," said Lt. Col. Lou Leto, a spokesman for Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command of U.S. Central Command. "We will work to prevent similar events from occurring in the future."
Army Maj. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Command Central, began his investigation after taking the highly unusual step of ordering the unit of about 120 Marines out of Afghanistan.
The Marines are in a special operations unit that deployed from Camp LeJeune, N.C., in January with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. After Kearney ordered them out of Afghanistan they returned to the ships of the 26th in the Persian Gulf.
Ellie