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Australia: 13 soldiers will be dismissed after Afghan report

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Australia has told 13 Special Forces soldiers they face dismissal in relation to a report on alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan, Reuters reported said on Friday quoting the head of the country’s army.

An independent report published last week reveals that there was evidence that 39 unarmed Afghan prisoners and civilians were killed by 19 Australian soldiers.

None of the 19 soldiers were identified in the report.

The 19 current and former soldiers have been referred for possible prosecution.

Lieutenant General Rick Burr, the head of the Australian army, said 13 current soldiers have been issued with notices that could eventually lead to their termination.

Burr did not identify any of the 13 soldiers, but said they were not part of the 19 current and former soldiers who face possible criminal charges.

 “At this time, 13 individuals have been issued administrative action notices in relation to the Afghanistan inquiry,” Burr told reporters in Canberra.

Australia’s most senior military official apologised to Afghanistan last week after the release of the report.

The report into the conduct of Special Forces personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016 said senior commandos may have forced junior soldiers to kill defenseless captives in order to “blood” them for combat.

The inquiry examined more than 20,000 documents and 25,000 images, and interviewed 423 witnesses under oath.

Australia sent troops to join U.S.-led forces that tried to defeat the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan in the years after the Islamists were forced from power in 2001.

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Iran’s envoy meets UNAMA deputy, stresses cooperation with Afghanistan

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Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's ambassador and special representative for Afghanistan met late Thursday with Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s deputy special political envoy for Kabul and they stressed the increase of cooperation with Afghanistan, the embassy said in a statement.

In this meeting, Qomi told Gagnon that Iran would support any initiative taken by the international community for Afghanistan.

In the meeting of Georgette Gagnon with Mr. Kazemi, the issue of narcotics and the presence of the private sector in Afghanistan were discussed, and Iran supports any constructive initiative of the international community for Afghanistan,” according to the statement.

Experts, meanwhile, believe the solutions of the United Nations to cooperate with Afghanistan's neighboring countries in consolidating stability and security can solve key issues such as terrorism and immigration.

Some experts consider strengthening Iran's partnership and cooperation with the UN for greater stability in Afghanistan is important and necessary.

However, Iran has not yet recognized the caretaker government of Afghanistan and has repeatedly emphasized the establishment of a comprehensive government in the country.

Over the past three years, Iran has established good relations with the Islamic Emirate, and trade between the two countries has increased.

Meanwhile, Tehran has previously opposed the appointment of a special representative for Afghanistan by the United Nations.

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Ten people killed in Baghlan attack

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Ten people were killed by unknown individuals in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province on Thursday night, police said on Friday.

The incident happened as the victims were doing Zikr at a mosque in Shahr-e-Kuhna of Nahrin district, police said in a statement.

The statement said that they used to regularly go to mosques and monasteries at night after returning from work.

Abdul Ghayoor Khadim, a provincial police official, said that several people were arrested in connection with the incident, adding that an investigation was launched.

 

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Chinese, Turkmen officials meet to discuss Afghanistan

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Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Serdar Muhammetdurdiyev on Thursday met with Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan announced.

During the meeting, the sides discussed priority vectors of strategic interstate cooperation built on a long-term, mutually beneficial basis, as well as exchanged views on the implementation of previously reached agreements.

It was noted that personal contacts between the leaders of the two countries play a key role in intensifying the interstate dialogue, which give a strong impulse to further development and expansion of Turkmen-Chinese ties.

It was emphasized that Turkmenistan considers multilateral international platforms for maintaining stability in Afghanistan as an important factor in promoting sustainable improvement of socio-economic state of the neighboring country. The sides exchanged views on the preparations to the 5th meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan's Neighboring States to be held in Turkmenistan.

The interlocutors reaffirmed that Turkmenistan and China will continue to provide all-round support for the economic restoration of Afghanistan.

 
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