Officers to be held accountable for war crimes in Afghanistan: Aussie minister

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles has vowed that military commanders will be held accountable for war crimes in Afghanistan, reported Xinhua.

Marles recently said the government would hold Australian Defence Force (ADF) top brass who oversaw the war in Afghanistan responsible for the unlawful killings allegedly committed by Australian troops.

His commitment came after Senator Jacqui Lambie, a former Australian army member, on Tuesday revealed she has referred ADF officers to the International Criminal Court for investigation over war crimes.

A landmark inquiry into allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan in 2020 revealed that it had found credible evidence that Australian special force soldiers murdered 39 civilians and prisoners in the country between 2005 and 2016.

One soldier has been charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with the war crime of murder, with investigations into others ongoing.

Lambie called on the government to hold commanders accountable for the actions of their subordinates.

She said there is "a culture of cover-up" at the highest levels of the ADF.

In response, Marles said the government would "make this right".

"The chief of the Defence Force has been pursuing a process in respect of command accountability, consistent with the recommendations of the Brereton Report," he said in a press conference on Tuesday. - BERNAMA-XINHUA