According to ISNA, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles announced the decision to remove the honors given to the forces involved in the “Britton” report on war crimes in Afghanistan.
Australian Major General Paul Britton’s four-year report, finally published in 2020, provided “credible evidence” that elite Australian soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the war in Afghanistan.
“This will always be a shame for our nation,” Marles said.
At the time, the Britton Report concluded that senior Australian Defense Force commanders had no knowledge of the unlawful killing of 39 prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan by these soldiers.
Australia’s defense minister did not confirm the number of officers, but Britton’s report put the number at 25.
Richard Marles added that some Australian Defense Force personnel could be prosecuted, but the relevant investigations would take years to complete.
