Shinwar Massacre

The Shinwar Massacre refers to the killing of at least nineteen civilians, including an infant and three elderly men, by US Marines in the Shinwar district of the Nangrahar province of Afghanistan on March 4, 2007. At least thirty-three civilians were injured in the shootings. [cite news
url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0416/p99s01-duts.html
title=Pentagon inquiry finds US Marine unit killed Afghan civilians
publisher=Christian Science Monitor
date=April 16, 2007] The casualty figures continue to be disputed.cite news
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301721.html
title=Marine Unit Is Told To Leave Afghanistan
first=Ann Scott|last=Tyson
publisher=Washington Post
date=March 23, 2007]

Events preceding the shootings

A suicide bomber struck a convoy of an elite Marine Special Operations Unit on March 4, wounding one Marine. Marines reported taking small arms fire following the blast. The attack took place near the main highway 25 miles east of Jalalabad. According to military and eye-witness reports, a man driving a minibus exploded his vehicle while passing the convoy of several marine Humvees. According to the military, the convoy then faced a “complex ambush from several directions,” although this has been disputed by witnesses and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. [cite news
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/world/asia/15afghan.html
title=Marines’ Actions in Afghanistan Called Excessive
publisher=New York Times
last=Gall|first=Carlotta
date=April 15, 2007]

"Excessive force"

According to witnesses and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, US Marines responded to the attack with excessive force, firing indiscriminately at civilians passing by on the busy highway, killing elderly men, women, and children. Akhtyar Gul, a local reporter who witnessed the shooting, claims that the Marines sprayed civilians with machine gun fire even though they were not under attack. [cite news
url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1654878.ece
title=US troops accused of killing civilians
first=Sarah|last=Baxter
publisher=The Sunday Times
date=15 April 2007] Both the Afghan Commission and the US military have acknowledged the Marines' response was a violation of international law, and the US command took the unusual step of removing the entire company of Marines involved in the incident from Afghanistan. US military commanders have since referred the incident to Naval Criminal Investigative Service for further inquiry. [cite news
url=http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/04/ap_marines_afghanistan_070415/
title=Afghan report: Marine response violated law
publisher=The Associated Press
first=Fisnik|last=Abrashi
date=April 15, 2007] Maj Gen Frank H Kearney III has told the Washington Post that the inquiry has found no evidence that the Marines were under attack or that any of the casualties were "fighters." "My investigating officer believes these folks were innocent," Kearney said. [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/15/AR2007041500466.html]

Associated Press and Afghan journalists claim that US soldiers confiscated photos and videos of the killings and their aftermath. [cite news
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6556721.stm
title=US 'excessive' in Afghan attack
publisher=BBC News Online
date=15 April 2007] [cite news
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6419235.stm
title=US 'erased Afghan attack footage'
publisher=BBC News Online
date=5 March 2007]

Afghan response

The killings were followed by widespread protests across Afghanistan and drew sharp criticism from President Hamid Karzai. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission contends that, "In failing to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets, the U.S. Marine Corps Special Forces employed indiscriminate force," the report said. "Their actions thus constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian standards." [cite news
url=http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070415/NEWS/704150407/1039
title=Marines Accused in Afghanistan Slayings
first=Carlotta|last=Gall
publisher=The New York Times
date=April 15, 2007]

ee also

* Afghanistan War order of battle
* British forces casualties in Afghanistan
* Canadian Forces casualties in Afghanistan
* Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
* Coalition casualties in Afghanistan
* Command responsibility
* International Security Assistance Force
* List of Coalition aircraft losses in Afghanistan
* Operation Medusa
* Operation Mountain Fury
* Taliban insurgency
* U.S. government response to the September 11, 2001 attacks
*
* Soviet war in Afghanistan

External links

* [http://www.aihrc.org.af/ Afghan Independent Human Rights commission Home Page]
* [http://www.ncis.navy.mil/ NCIS Home Page]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/world/asia/20abuse.html "New York Times" article comparing Shinwar killings to the Haditha massacre]

References