HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- The Guardian
Footage shows British soldiers in action Richard
Norton-Taylor Amnesty International yesterday
renewed its call for an inquiry into the shooting of hundreds of prisoners in
northern Afghanistan after unprecedented video footage showed British SAS troops
fighting alongside anti-Taliban forces at the time.
Footage showing soldiers not in uniform and with unmistakable British accents
at the Qala-i-Janghi fortress, near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif,
was broadcast by Channel 4 News. It showed the soldiers firing a machine gun at
targets from the walls of the fortress. One SAS soldier took aim with a sniper
rifle after a Northern Alliance fighter pointed to a target.
A man shouted "FAC [forward air control] complete" in a clear British accent
and gave a thumbs up.
Amnesty yesterday described the video - taken by an Afghan cameraman - as
alarming and said it strengthened the case for an urgent inquiry into what
happened at the fort.
"By blocking an inquiry the UK government and others are adding to a
suspicion that something seriously untoward took place," an Amnesty spokesman
said. "A proper investigation could clear the air and potentially offer useful
lessons on the question of how best to hold and transport prisoners in
Afghanistan and also how best to safeguard the lives of both prisoners and
prison guard," he added.
The targets could not be seen on the film though the faces of some of the SAS
soldiers were clearly in view. The decision not to obscure their faces triggered
an angry response from the Ministry of Defence. One MoD official said the
ministry was "very, very unhappy with Channel Four" for not obscuring the faces
of the SAS soldiers.
Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, has confirmed only that "British troops"
were operating in Afghanistan and that their tasks included "liaison" with the
Northern Alliance.
An MoD spokesmen yesterday refused to comment on the video - taken on
November 25 - or even to admit the presence of SAS troops engaged in any
operations anywhere in Afghanistan. But military sources said that the footage
"spoke for itself".
According to guidelines under the D notice system - a system of voluntary
media self-censorship - anything that helps to identify members of the special
forces endangers their personal security.
Exactly why and how the prisoners' rebellion at the fortress started and was
put down has never been explained by the US or Britain. Hundreds of Taliban
fighters are estimated to have been killed. One CIA agent also died in the
fighting.
US special forces are shown in the video using a satellite phone which they
used to direct helicopters and aircraft on to targets.
The MoD insists that British forces in the vicinity of the fort near Mazar
operated according to international law and followed their own rules of
engagement. Mr Hoon has said that Britain told Northern Alliance commanders that
it expected them to respect the rights of prisoners according to "applicable
international standards".
Shortly after the events at the fort, he told MPs: "After Taliban fighters
held at Qala-i-Janghi fort overpowered their captors and seized the armoury,
British troops went to the aid of their US colleagues and attempted to recover,
under heavy fire, two US personnel apparently captured by the Taliban fighters".
But he has declined to answer questions tabled by the Labour MP, George
Galloway, and the Labour-turned-Liberal Democrat MP, Paul Marsden, about which
UK forces participated in the military action at the fort, and about their
activities in Afghanistan.
More than 150 SAS soldiers - nearly three-quarters of the entire regiment -
are operating in Afghanistan, according to military sources.
They are joining the hunt for Osama bin Laden in the mountains and caves
around Tora Bora. Two weeks ago, four SAS troops in a 60-strong patrol were
injured, one seriously, in a firefight in southern Afghanistan in which 18
Afghans are said to have been killed.
� Hundreds of US marines and special forces equipped with more than 40
armoured vehicles occupied Kandahar airport yesterday, after entering the former
Taliban stronghold in the early hours of the morning.
The US occupation of the airport will open the way for humanitarian aid
flights to an area already suffering acute food shortages before the beginning
of the US bombing following several years of severe drought.
Dozens of marines were immediately set to work screening the area for
landmines, booby traps and unexploded bombs, while others were started clearing
the piles of shattered glass from the airport's offices to provide work space
and accommodation.
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Title: Guardian | SAS role in fort deaths questioned
