EvanL
05-14-2004, 12:10 PM
Canadian unit involved in action that killed elder and child in Afghan village
David Pugliese
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, May 14, 2004
A London-based human rights organization is calling for a sweeping investigation into the abuse of prisoners and killings of civilians by U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, including an incident involving Canadian special forces in 2002.
Human Rights Watch alleged yesterday that mistreatment of prisoners by U.S. military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan is a systemic problem and not limited to a few isolated cases. It cited a report it produced in March, which detailed a number of abuses against detainees as well as allegations about the killings of innocent civilians during raids by special forces units.
Among those was a May 24, 2002 mission involving members of the Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2 and American special forces during which a three-year-old girl and an elderly Afghan man were killed.
John Sifton, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, said the JTF2 raid, as well as other special forces missions in which innocent civilians died, needs to be thoroughly investigated. "It's not the only one," he said from London, England. "There are a lot of allegations out there that have to be looked at."
The May 24 raid began shortly after midnight when a joint U.S.-Canadian commando force surrounded the village of Band Taimore, 80 kilometres northwest of Kandahar. The troops used explosives to blow several holes in the village walls and then began to round up Band Taimore's residents.
Fifty-five males, including a 12-year-old boy, were taken into custody and brought to a U.S. base for interrogation. Almost all were released six days later and U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the raid succeeded in capturing a Taliban official, "below the senior level."
At the time, then-defence minister Art Eggleton cited the assault as an excellent example of Canadian military support for the U.S.-led war on terror.
Pentagon officials say their soldiers acted properly during the Band Taimore raid. A Canadian Forces spokesman was not available yesterday to respond to the Human Rights Watch report or its call for an investigation into the Band Taimore incident.
But in a previous interview with the Citizen, a Canadian military officer said Canadian Forces troops acted professionally throughout the mission. He questioned whether any one had been killed in the raid, even though the U.S. has acknowledged the death of 70-year-old Haji Bajet, Band Taimore's village elder and its representative to the loya jirga, or Afghan grand council.
The raid and Mr. Bajet's death created widespread anger in the region and prompted 150 Afghans from the area to publicly protest the conduct of the special forces soldiers.
In addition to Mr. Bajet's death, during the confusion of the night-time raid, a three-year-old girl was separated from her family and fell down a well. Her body was later discovered at the bottom of the well, partially covered in water. A village guard had also been wounded after U.S. soldiers alleged the man opened fire on the assault force. Another girl was hurt the next day in Band Taimore after a discarded stun grenade she found and played with exploded, injuring her foot.
Band Taimore men not taken into custody by the raiding party alleged that they were slapped and punched by the soldiers and that women were shoved and tied up. One woman claimed that a soldier used a turban to gag her while another alleged her seven-year-old daughter had her hands bound by plastic restraints.
Some of the villagers complained to authorities in Kandahar that they were treated better by the Russians who invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s than they were by coalition troops.
Mr. Sifton said such raids, which continue in Afghanistan, have turned much of the population against U.S. forces.
Canadian officials have praised JTF2's actions in Afghanistan, although they have declined to discuss most details of the unit's missions for security reasons. In its recruiting materials and other military documents, JTF2 refers to itself as a world-class special forces unit.
JTF2 operators are serving in Afghanistan, but it is believed their main mission is to protect Canadian VIPs who visit the country as well as senior military officers such as army commander Lt.-Gen. Rick Hillier.
Human Rights Watch also called yesterday on the Pentagon to immediately release the results of past investigations into misconduct by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, including information about two Afghan detainees who were killed in American custody in December 2002 and another detainee who died in June 2003. The December deaths have been classified by U.S. military officials as homicides. The June 2003 death is still under investigation.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2004
David Pugliese
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, May 14, 2004
A London-based human rights organization is calling for a sweeping investigation into the abuse of prisoners and killings of civilians by U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, including an incident involving Canadian special forces in 2002.
Human Rights Watch alleged yesterday that mistreatment of prisoners by U.S. military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan is a systemic problem and not limited to a few isolated cases. It cited a report it produced in March, which detailed a number of abuses against detainees as well as allegations about the killings of innocent civilians during raids by special forces units.
Among those was a May 24, 2002 mission involving members of the Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2 and American special forces during which a three-year-old girl and an elderly Afghan man were killed.
John Sifton, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, said the JTF2 raid, as well as other special forces missions in which innocent civilians died, needs to be thoroughly investigated. "It's not the only one," he said from London, England. "There are a lot of allegations out there that have to be looked at."
The May 24 raid began shortly after midnight when a joint U.S.-Canadian commando force surrounded the village of Band Taimore, 80 kilometres northwest of Kandahar. The troops used explosives to blow several holes in the village walls and then began to round up Band Taimore's residents.
Fifty-five males, including a 12-year-old boy, were taken into custody and brought to a U.S. base for interrogation. Almost all were released six days later and U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the raid succeeded in capturing a Taliban official, "below the senior level."
At the time, then-defence minister Art Eggleton cited the assault as an excellent example of Canadian military support for the U.S.-led war on terror.
Pentagon officials say their soldiers acted properly during the Band Taimore raid. A Canadian Forces spokesman was not available yesterday to respond to the Human Rights Watch report or its call for an investigation into the Band Taimore incident.
But in a previous interview with the Citizen, a Canadian military officer said Canadian Forces troops acted professionally throughout the mission. He questioned whether any one had been killed in the raid, even though the U.S. has acknowledged the death of 70-year-old Haji Bajet, Band Taimore's village elder and its representative to the loya jirga, or Afghan grand council.
The raid and Mr. Bajet's death created widespread anger in the region and prompted 150 Afghans from the area to publicly protest the conduct of the special forces soldiers.
In addition to Mr. Bajet's death, during the confusion of the night-time raid, a three-year-old girl was separated from her family and fell down a well. Her body was later discovered at the bottom of the well, partially covered in water. A village guard had also been wounded after U.S. soldiers alleged the man opened fire on the assault force. Another girl was hurt the next day in Band Taimore after a discarded stun grenade she found and played with exploded, injuring her foot.
Band Taimore men not taken into custody by the raiding party alleged that they were slapped and punched by the soldiers and that women were shoved and tied up. One woman claimed that a soldier used a turban to gag her while another alleged her seven-year-old daughter had her hands bound by plastic restraints.
Some of the villagers complained to authorities in Kandahar that they were treated better by the Russians who invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s than they were by coalition troops.
Mr. Sifton said such raids, which continue in Afghanistan, have turned much of the population against U.S. forces.
Canadian officials have praised JTF2's actions in Afghanistan, although they have declined to discuss most details of the unit's missions for security reasons. In its recruiting materials and other military documents, JTF2 refers to itself as a world-class special forces unit.
JTF2 operators are serving in Afghanistan, but it is believed their main mission is to protect Canadian VIPs who visit the country as well as senior military officers such as army commander Lt.-Gen. Rick Hillier.
Human Rights Watch also called yesterday on the Pentagon to immediately release the results of past investigations into misconduct by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, including information about two Afghan detainees who were killed in American custody in December 2002 and another detainee who died in June 2003. The December deaths have been classified by U.S. military officials as homicides. The June 2003 death is still under investigation.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2004