to the people of afghanistan, on behalf of the australian defence force, i sincerely and unreservedlypologise for any wrongdoing by australian soldiers i've spoken directly with my afghan counterpart to convey this message. such alleged behaviour profoundly disrespected the trust placed in us by the afghan people, who had asked us to their country to help them. it would have devastated the lives of afghan families and communities, causing immeasurable pain and suffering. and it would have put injeopardy our suffering. and it would have put in jeopardy our mission and the safety of our afghan and coalition partners. and to the people of australia, i am sincerely sorry for any wrongdoing by members of the australian defence force. you are right to expect that your defence force will defend your nation and its interests in a manner that accords with our nation's values and laws. turning to the inspector general‘s report, he found none of the alleged unlawful killings were described as being in the heat of battle. none were alleged to have occurred in circumstances in which the intent of

evidence that australian special forces unlawfully killed at least 39 civilians, farmers and prisoners in afghanistan. that's the conclusion of a long—awaited investigation by the australian defence into misconduct by its forces. the inquiry investigated 57 incidents and heard from hundreds of witnesses. it uncovered, quote, a "shameful record" of a "warrior culture" by some soldiers, according to the chief general angus campbell. he apologised to the afghan people. to the people of afghanistan, on behalf of the australian defence force, i sincerely and unreservedly apologise for any wrongdoing by australian soldiers. i've spoken directly with my afghan counterpart, general zia, to convey this message. general campbell also outlined a culture of toxic competitiveness within the special air service regiment. the report says that none of the alleged unlawful killings were described as being in the heat of battle. these findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. the killing... the unlawful killing of civilians and prisoners is never acceptable. it's my duty and that of my fellow chiefs to set things right. it's alleged that some patrols to

forfour years now, the attorney general of the australian defence force has looked into allegations thatlated the rules of war in afghanistan. we know that the justice has been looking into it 55 separate incidents between 2005—2016 and have spoken to more than 300 witnesses. we also know that the inquiry did not focus on things that happened in the heat of battle, if you will come us and not people who died as collateral damage in combat, but rather people who were unlawfully killed allegedly while they were unarmed. so the alleged killing of unarmed afghan civilians and the mistreatment alleged of prisoners of war. we already know the primary report has been handed to the government and to the military as well. and a redacted version is due to be released but whatever details it we get are going to make for some very uncomfortable reading indeed and we also know the prime minister, scott morrison, has already called the afghan president to apologise for the misconduct by some of the australian troops in afghanistan. so once we get the findings, what happens next? the prime minister ann

evidence that australian special forces unlawfully killed at least 39 civilians, farmers and prisoners in afghanistan. that's the conclusion of a long—awaited investigation by the australian defenceorce into misconduct by its forces. the inquiry investigated 57 incidents and heard from hundreds of witnesses. it uncovered "a shameful record of a warrior culture by some soldiers", according to the chief general, angus campbell. he apologised to the afghan people. to the people of afghanistan, on behalf of the australian defence force, i sincerely and unreservedly apologise for any wrongdoing by australian soldiers. i've spoken directly with my afghan counterpart, general zia, to convey this message. general campbell also outlined a culture of toxic competitiveness within the special air service regiment. the report says that none of the alleged unlawful killings were described as being in the heat of battle. the findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. the killing... the unlawful killing of civilians and prisoners is never acceptable. it's my duty and that of my fellow chiefs to set things right. it's alleged that some patrols took the

to the people of afghanistan — on behalf of the australian defence force, i sincerely and unreservedlye for any wrongdoing by australian soldiers. such alleged behaviour profoundly disrespected the trust placed in us by the afghan people, who had asked us to their country to help them. it would have devastated the lives of afghan families and communities, causing immeasurable pain and suffering. a special investigator will be appointed to look at the findings of the report, gather evidence and then present it to the public prosecutor, a process that will ta ke yea rs. prosecutor, a process that will take years. the released version of this report is heavily redacted, and there are no details of specific incidents or individuals, but the information that we do have things enough to make for very uncomfortable reading, not just for the military or the government but also for the australian public. we're now joined by elaine pearson, the human rights watch‘s australian director in sydney. thank you for being on the programme. so for the victims in afghanistan, for their families, what doe

this is the head of the australian defence force. their own hands. rules we re the law into their own hands. rules were broken, stories concocted, lies told, and prisoners killed. the inquiry found credible evidence that 39 men and teenagers had been unlawfully killed. allegations include junior soldiers being coerced into executing prisoners to get their first kill, in a practice known as ‘blooding'. and claims that weapons were planted on victims to make the killings look legitimate. the report found 25 soldiers had carried out alleged crimes — or been accessories to them and it recommended 19 people be referred to the australian federal police. here's the defence chief again. these findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. 19 service personnel could face prosecution over the allegations, but that process could take years. let's get more from our australia coreespondent, shaimaa khalil. the defence chief's language left us in no doubt about how grave the alleged violations in afghanistan

to the people of afghanistan, on behalf of the australian defence force, i sincerely and unreservedlyour profoundly disrespected the trust placed in us by the afghan people who had asked us to their country to help them. it would have devastated the lives of afghan families and communities, causing immeasurable pain and suffering. a special investigator will be appointed to look at the findings of the report, gather evidence and then present it to the public prosecutor. a process that will take years. the released version of this report is heavily redacted and there are no details of specific incidents or specific individuals. but the information that we do have is enough to make for very uncomfortable reading. notjust for the military or the government, but also for the australian public. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. 0ur afghanistan correspondent secunder kermani has been closely watching reaction to the damning investigation from neighbouring pakistan. he says afghan human rights groups hope to get in touch with the families whose relatives were murdered. the details of this re

an investigation into the conduct of australian special forces in afghanistan has revealed evidence of dozens of unlawful killings. australia's chief of the defence