Amnesty International has released a report slamming the United States military justice system, for failing to provide adequate justice for the thousands of Afghans it says have been killed or injured by US forces.
The report, which focuses on air strikes and night raids carried out by US forces, detailed 10 incidents taking place between 2009 and 2013, which killed at least 140 civilians. The NGO said it was aware of only six cases since 2009 in which US military personnel have faced trials.
Richard Bennett, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Director, said,
Bennett went on to add,
The report, which focuses on air strikes and night raids carried out by US forces, detailed 10 incidents taking place between 2009 and 2013, which killed at least 140 civilians. The NGO said it was aware of only six cases since 2009 in which US military personnel have faced trials.
Richard Bennett, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Director, said,
“Thousands of Afghans have been killed or injured by US forces since the invasion, but the victims and their families have little chance of redress. The US military justice system almost always fails to hold its soldiers accountable for unlawful killings and other abuses.”
“None of the cases that we looked into – involving more than 140 civilian deaths – were prosecuted by the US military. Evidence of possible war crimes and unlawful killings has seemingly been ignored.”
Bennett went on to add,
“We urge the US military to immediately investigate all the cases documented in our report, and all other cases where civilians have been killed. The victims and their family members deserve justice.”Read the full report “Afghanistan: Left in the dark: Failures of accountability for civilian casualties caused by international military operations in Afghanistan” here.