Sydney, 12 September 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Defence Minister Richard Marles on Thursday said that a number of high ranking Australian Defence Force (ADF) members who served in Afghanistan have been stripped of their awards, as recommended by a four-year inquiry into alleged Australian war crimes.

Marles told Parliament that he wrote letters to "relevant commanders" who oversaw units accused of war crimes to communicate his "decision in relation to medals awarded to them as part of their service during periods proximate to the incidents which are at the heart of the Brereton Report."

Marles said his decisions were "consistent with the findings and recommendations" of the report, which concluded there was credible information of unlawful conduct in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

The minister did not specify the rank of the AFD members who were losing their awards nor how many were affected, citing privacy laws. "I am prohibited from disclosing the details and outcomes," he added. Australian media reported less than 10 individuals were losing their medals.

Marles stressed that "bar the actions of a few," the more than 26,000 Australians who served in Afghanistan "undertook their service with professionalism, honour and integrity."

The minister said that one of the "most disturbing" conclusions of the report "was the identification of 23 incidents involving 25 Australian Special Forces personnel.

"These incidents related to the alleged unlawful killing of 39 people by, or involving Australian Defence Force members as well as the alleged mistreatment of two individuals," Marles said, also highlighting the finding "of a sub-culture of elitism and deviation from acceptable standards which was normalised over time."

The minister said that 139 of the report's 143 recommendations are now closed. The four remaining recommendations are still being investigated.

"Any prosecutions of Australian War Crimes will happen inside Australia by Australian courts," Marles added, calling the events "a matter of national shame."

Australia deployed troops to Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks on its ally the United States in 2001.

Photo: EPA