The former British special forces spoke about ‘war crimes’ of colleagues – BBC News in Serbian
Former members of British special forces, after many years of silence, they spoke to the BBC Panorami would give testimonies of eyewitnesses about alleged war crimes committed by their colleagues in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For the first time, giving statements publicly, Veterans described how members of SAS were killed by unarmed people on sleeping and executed prisoners with foxes on their hands, among them children.
« They put foxes on the hands of a small boy and killed him, » said one veteran who served in SAS in Afghanistan. «
« It was obvious that the child was not even close to the years of the fight. »
The killing of detainees became « routine, » Veteran said.
« They would search someone, put his fox, then shot at him, » after which he would cut his plastic connections used for binding and « planted a gun » next to the body, he says. He says.
New testimonies include war crimes committed for more than a decade, much longer than three years, currently investigating the public investigation led by the Judge in the UK.
SBS, elite regiment of special forces of the Royal Navy, was also accused of the most serious allegations – for the execution of unarmed and wounded people.
The veteran who served in the SBS said that some troops had a « mentality mentality », describing their behavior during operations as « barbaric ».
« I saw the most peaceful guys transform, expressing serious psychopathic properties, » he said.
« They were above the law. They felt untouchable. »
Special forces were sent to Afghanistan to protect British troops from Taliban fighters and bomb creators.
The conflict was deadly for members of British armed forces – 457 of them lost their lives, and thousands of them were wounded.
On the occasion of new testimonies of eyewitnesses, the BBC requested the Ministry of Defense referred to in that they are « fully committed » to support on current publication of alleged war crimes and calls all veterans to publicly present relevant information.
They also say that « is not appropriate for the Ministry to comment on the allegations » which could be in the field of investigation.
‘Psychopaths killers’ in the mere
The testimony of the eyewitness will offer a most ententral public statement on the killings made by former members of British special forces (UKSF), umbrella groups covering SAS, SBS and several associated regiments.
Testimonies More than 30 people served with British special forces or with them are followed for many years of reporting BBC Panorama on the charges of ex-board executions that performed SAS.
Panorama can first disclose that the then Prime Minister David Cameron was warned again during his term that British special forces kill civilians in Afghanistan.
Speaking provided that they remain anonymous because of the de facto special forces operations, one witness was for the BBC that the customs of war were regularly and consciously violated from the most elite units in the country, and in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
According to these laws in such operations, people can be deliberately killed only if they represent a direct threat to the lives of British or other soldiers.
But Members of SAS and SBS invented their own rules, eyewitnesses said.
« If the target appeared on the list three or four times earlier, we would be in the intention of killing it, there was no trial of a veteran, who served in SAS, talking about people who were detained, heard and then released.
« Sometimes we would confirm that we identified the target well, check her ID, and then killed her, » he said.
« It would often only make a squad and killed the people he found there. »
One witness who served in the SAS said that « killing could easily become the thing you were pulled on » and that some members of the elite mere were « intoxicated by that feeling » in Afghanistan.
There were many « psychopathic killers, » he said.
« In some operations, the troops would fall into the building type buildings and killing everyone that found there, » he said.
« They would turn on and kill everyone who slept there, right after entering. It was not justified to kill people in bed. »
The veteran who served in the SBS told BBC, after putting some area under control, the assault determination would combed it, shooting at anyone who encountered in the field, checking the bodies and killing anyone who survived.
« It was expected, not covered. Everyone knew, » he said.
The intentional killing of wounded people who do not constitute any threat to a violation of international law.
But SBS Veteran told Panorami that wounded people were simply killed.
He described one surgery during which the paramedic was treated by someone who was hit, but he was still breathing.
« And then one of our guys approached him. He heard the shot. He was shot in the head of immediate proximity, » he says.
The killings were « completely unnecessary, » he added.
« It was not a finishing of grace. These were real murders. »
Younger members of the assault provisions would receive the order of sams to kill male detainees, according to the testimony, with the help of instructions such as « or », as far as this detainee is concerned, make sure that the target is not missing. «
Detainees were the people who surrendered, which special forces searched, and were usually tied to handcuffs.
British and international law prohibit intentionally killing of unarmed civilians or prisoners of war.
The former SAS operative described how he learned about the operation in Iraq during which someone was executed.
« It was pretty obvious based on what I could see that he didn’t constitute a threat, he wasn’t armed.
« It’s a shame. There is no professionalism in that, » this former operative said.
The murder was never properly investigated, he added.
According to Veteran SAS, the problem started for a long time before the PUK moved to Afghanistan, and « senior commands knew about it ».
Testimony, as well as new video evidence of SAS operations in Iraq 2006. year to which the BBC has come to the Panorama that SAS had counted how many people killed themselves to compete among themselves.
The sources said about BBC that some SAS members were conducted by individual calculations, and that one operative personally killed dozens of people during six-month stay in Afghanistan.
« It looked like trying to kill someone during each surgery, every night someone would be killed, » ex-colleague said.
This operative was « notorious in the squad, he looked truly as a psychopath, » a former colleague added.
During a single incident for which sources they say he became notorious within SAS, the operative allegedly cut the throat with the wounded Afghanist after he told the officer again to shoot himself again.
It was « because he wanted to finish the wounded knife, » said another former colleague.
« He wanted you, you know, just bleed the knife. »
The awareness of alleged crimes was not limited to small teams or individual detachments, according to the testimony.
Within the Chain Chain of British Special Forces, « everyone knew » what was happening, one veteran said.
« I don’t want to diminish personal responsibility, but everyone knew, » he said.
« There was a tacit approval of what was happening. »
To avoid suspicion of the killings, the eyewitnesses, members of SAS and SBS would make the so-called « weapons consumption » to dead bodies, as if people were armed in photographs that were routinely made teams of special forces on the spot.
« There was a fake grenade that brought with him to the target, she couldn’t be detonated, » said SAS operatives.
Another veteran said the operatives would carry AK-47 rifles that had a folding butt because they could easily fit their backpacks and « easier to leave on target and planted on the body. »
The reports were « fiction »
The officers would then help counterfeit postoperative reports to avoid suspicion of actions of assault teams on the field, according to the testimony.
« We knew how we should write reports of serious incidents without coming to them for forwarding to the military police, » said one of the veterans.
« If it seemed as if the murder could be a violation of the customer’s customs or one of the headquarters. They would understand what you do and help you clean up the dictionary? ‘ ‘Oh, yeah. Now I remember.’ Such things. It was an integral part of what we operated on. «
The reports were « fiction, » the other Veteran of the UKSF said.
An intelligence officer who cooperated with SBS described reports in which they were caught in armed struggle, while the bodies were clear in photographs « with more hits in the head ».
The counterfeit paperwork could help prevent the royal military police investigate, but the operations of British special forces caused a profound concern of Afghan commanders and officials of the Afghan government.
David Cameron, who visited Afghanistan as Prime Minister between June 2010 and November 2013. years, during the Public Investigation SAS, was informed about the concerns of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, according to several people who attended these meetings.
Karzai was « consistently, reiterating this problem, » said Panorama former Afghan National Security Advisor Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta.
He said that Cameron was certainly aware that there were charges that civilians, including children, killed during operations performed by British special forces.
The Afghan President was « so consistent in complaints on civilian victims, that there was no higher Western diplomat or military leader who would miss it, » said General Douglas Lut, a former US Ambassador to NATO.
General Lut said that it would be « extremely unusual that there was an appeal against British forces that the British command chain was not aware of ».
Lord’s camera spokesman said « if Lord Cameron remembers, the problems he pointed out the Afghan President concerned the » concrete incidents for which British special forces would be not mentioned were not mentioned. «
The spokesman also said that « right to wait for the official investigations », adding that « any suggestion was that Lord Cameron was a complaint in the cover of serious criminal actions full of criminal stupidity. »
Unlike many other countries, among them the United States and France, the United Kingdom has no parliamentary control over the registry of their own elite special forces.
Strategic responsibility for their part falls at the end under the prime minister, together with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Special Forces.
Bruce Holder, former director of the Service Prosecutor’s Office, responsible for the indictment and prosecution of those who are able to investigate the public investigation to which Lord Cameron will be familiar with the citizens of Civilian victims during British special forces operations.
« It must be known how far the rot went up, » Holder said.
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