UK troops pointlessly killed Afghans

A former UK commander has recounted his mission in Afghanistan, saying that US-led British troops ‘pointlessly’ massacred hundreds of Afghan villagers.

According to the Daily Mail on Saturday, in a new book, Major Richard Streatfeild, who served in the town of Sangin in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand in 2009-2010, censured the UK soldiers for using “turkey shoot tactics,” which resulted in the “repetitive slaughter” of Afghan villagers.
According to the ex-commander, the UK forces operating in Helmand from 2006 to 2009 had been authorized to open fire on anyone approaching their bases while carrying a weapon.
Streatfeild said: “These men, who lived in the villages surrounding our bases, did not want to fight us”, adding, “Sadly, there were many occasions when these men approached our bases and, as they were carrying a weapon, they were shot dead.”
The former commander further stated that the Afghan people who were targeted were, in fact, supposed to be protected by the British troops operating in the country. The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but the country is still gripped by insecurity.