Afghanistan: No justice for two brothers shot dead in own home

* US forces operating from Mullah Omar’s house implicated
* Country at ‘tipping point’ warning as civilian deaths mount

Amnesty International has today warned that the country is at a “tipping point” as civilian deaths mount in the country and accountability measures are weak or non-existent.

Releasing a new report today, the organisation in particular focused on the case of two brothers who were shot dead in a night-time raid by international forces in their home in Kandahar in January 2008. Amnesty’s report stresses that their killing is a notable example of the lack of accountability of international forces.

The two men - Abdul Habib, a father of six, and Mohammed Ali, a father of five - were shot at home at point blank range in front of their families by international forces in camouflage uniforms. The two men were both unarmed. More than a year later, no one has admitted responsibility despite enquiries by Amnesty International, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston.

Amnesty is calling on the international security forces in Afghanistan to investigate the killings and to make the findings public.

Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director Sam Zarifi said:

“The ongoing impunity surrounding the deaths of Abdul Habib and Mohammed Ali highlights the lack of proper accountability for Western forces operating in Afghanistan.

“The country is at tipping point and civilians are increasingly questioning whether their government and its international allies are doing enough to protect them. The Taleban have stoked public resentment and international forces have not yet demonstrated that they are serious about conducting investigations of incidents and providing accountability and compensation to the victims.

“2008 was the most violent year for civilians since the fall of the Taleban and Afghans are increasingly resentful about civilians casualties caused by international forces during night raids and other actions of this sort.

“The challenge for the USA and its allies is to ensure that the surge of international troops into the country will provide better security for Afghans, and not put them at greater risk.”

So far no one has accepted responsibility for the deaths of the two brothers. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) told Amnesty International that no NATO/ISAF personnel were involved in the operation. To date the US military has not acknowledged taking part in this incident.

Amnesty International has, however, received information that the operation was conducted by personnel operating out of “Firebase Gecko” (also known as “Firebase Maholic”), located at the former home of Taleban leader Mullah Omar. Now used as a US base, it houses regular international troops, special forces units, as well as personnel from intelligence agencies forces, such as the CIA, known to operate in Afghanistan. These forces are often referred to as “other government agencies” or OGAs.

Afghan security forces in Kandahar have confirmed that they do not exercise any control or command over the activity of special forces or OGAs operating out of Firebase Gecko/Maholic and cannot provide any remedy for civilians injured by the action of units based there.

Amnesty International commended recent policies adopted by NATO and US forces to minimise harm to civilians, but pointed out that there is still great confusion about the chains of command, mandates and rules of engagement of personnel from the nearly 40 countries operating military forces in Afghanistan.