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Title: US troops on Afghan abuse charge
Source:
BBC
URL Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4390770.stm
Published: Nov 1, 2005
Author: BBC
Post Date: 2005-11-01 07:14:06 by Zipporah
Keywords: troops, Afghan, charge
Views: 6
Two US soldiers have been charged with assaulting two Afghan detainees at a US base in southern Afghanistan, the US military has said. The soldiers are accused of punching the detainees in the chest, shoulders and stomach, it said. The charges come a week after accusations that US forces burned the bodies of Taleban fighters, an act considered sacrilege in Islam. Rights groups have accused US forces of a number of abuses in Afghanistan. TV footage The US military said the detainees who were allegedly assaulted were being temporarily held at a forward operating base in Uruzgan province. It said the detainees did not need medical attention. However, army Brig Gen Jack Sterling said: "The command remains committed to investigate all allegations of misconduct and will hold individuals responsible for their actions consistent with US military law." The charges include conspiracy to maltreat, assault and dereliction of duty. They come a week after Australian TV channel SBS aired footage alleged to show the corpses of two Taleban fighters laid out facing Mecca and then being set alight. The US military ordered an immediate investigation. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the incident if proved could harm the country's image abroad. Rights groups have on a number of occasions accused US forces of abusing Afghans held at US detention centres in the country. At least eight prisoners have died in US custody since 2001. Last month a US military interrogator was sentenced to five months in prison for assaulting a detainee in Afghanistan who later died. Five other US soldiers have been convicted following the deaths of two prisoners at the military base at Bagram, outside Kabul, in 2002. Poster Comment: Hardly the worst of it, watch the documentary Convoy of Death: 
Afghanistan
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