by Abdul Haleem
KABUL, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Afghan experts have described the killing of civilians -- including children -- by Australian troops in Afghanistan as a "war crime."
"Based on all international laws and norms, killing civilians is a war crime. No doubt, the Australian soldiers committed the crime during their mission in Afghanistan and the Australian administration has confirmed killing civilians by its soldiers," local analyst Khan Mohammad Daneshjo told Xinhua on Tuesday.
The analyst also praised China's foreign ministry for the endorsement of an image that depicts an Australian soldier murdering a child and called the Australian government out for its double standards regarding human rights.
Ridiculing the Australian government for asking China to apologize over the image, Daneshjo called on the Australian government to offer apology over killing Afghan civilians.
Echoing Daneshjo, another Afghan expert, welcomed China's stance on the issue and demanded justice.
"Killing civilians and children is war crime and I personally welcome the Chinese stance against the war crimes committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan," political analyst Zabihullah Zamaray told Xinhua.
Zamaray also said: "We Afghans are appealing to the International Community to help bring to justice all those foreign soldiers (who) committed war crimes in Afghanistan."
A contingent of Australian soldiers had served in Afghanistan within the framework of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, mostly in Afghanistan's southern Uruzgan province. The Australian elite troops, according to Australian media reports, had unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians during the so-called U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
"Instead of quarrelling with China, the Australian government should accept the fact and bring to justice its soldiers who committed the war crime in Afghanistan," Hazrat Jafar Arab, who works as a professor in the eastern city of Jalalabad, told Xinhua.
An investigation report recently released by the Australian Defense Forces showed that 25 Australian special forces soldiers killed 39 Afghans, including children, in 23 incidents, and none of those killings occurred in "the heat of a battle."
Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga or the lower house of the parliament has also denounced the reported war crime in Afghanistan, urging the Australian government to bring to justice all soldiers involved.
"The war crime committed by Australian soldiers is not forgivable, it is a crime against humanity that demonstrates the double standards of the Australian government towards human rights," Kabul resident Sufi Farakh Shah said. Enditem
