soulxtc
October 25th, 2006, 08:11 AM
Berlin/Kabul - Two soldiers were questioned on Wednesday after a newspaper published photographs of German troops posing with the skull of dead man while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
The mass circulation Bild newspaper Wednesday printed five photographs of men dressed in German army combat fatigues playing with the skull on military vehicles.
One of the photos shows a soldier exposing himself while holding the skull in his right hand.
Chancellor Angela Merkel described the photographs as 'shocking and disgusting,' government spokesman Thomas Steg told an afternoon press conference. 'They discredit the armed forces and the reputation of our country.'
The defence ministry said two non-commissioned officers, one of them a reservist, were being questioned in connection with the incident, which is believed to have occurred early 2003 near the Afghan capital Kabul.
At the time, the soldiers were serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was set up to help restore stability in Afghanistan after the ouster of the Taliban regime.
'It's absolutely clear that we cannot tolerate such behaviour by German soldiers,' Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said in ordering an investigation into the incident.
He said the soldiers would have to reckon with disciplinary consequences 'and possible criminal prosecution' if the photographs were found to be genuine.
ISAF said it will cooperate and help as much as possible in the defence ministry's investigation, according to ISAF spokesman Luke Knittig in Kabul.
Knittig warned against rash judgements of the soldiers allegedly involved in the incident and said they deserve a 'full and fair investigation.'
He added that the soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan 'deserve to be judged on the merits of their mission achievement and demonstrated commitment to helping the people of Afghanistan.'
The Bild report said the skull had apparently come from a mass grave but it was unclear whether it was that of an Afghan or a Russian killed during the Soviet occupation from 1979-89.
The newspaper said a total of five soldiers were involved in the incident, which it said it had learned about from another soldier.
Bild published the photographs with the faces of the men involved blacked out. A spokesman for the newspaper said it had turned down a request from the defence ministry to see the original photographs.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/article_1214477.php/German_soldiers_quizzed_over_Afghan_skull_incident __Roundup_
The mass circulation Bild newspaper Wednesday printed five photographs of men dressed in German army combat fatigues playing with the skull on military vehicles.
One of the photos shows a soldier exposing himself while holding the skull in his right hand.
Chancellor Angela Merkel described the photographs as 'shocking and disgusting,' government spokesman Thomas Steg told an afternoon press conference. 'They discredit the armed forces and the reputation of our country.'
The defence ministry said two non-commissioned officers, one of them a reservist, were being questioned in connection with the incident, which is believed to have occurred early 2003 near the Afghan capital Kabul.
At the time, the soldiers were serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was set up to help restore stability in Afghanistan after the ouster of the Taliban regime.
'It's absolutely clear that we cannot tolerate such behaviour by German soldiers,' Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said in ordering an investigation into the incident.
He said the soldiers would have to reckon with disciplinary consequences 'and possible criminal prosecution' if the photographs were found to be genuine.
ISAF said it will cooperate and help as much as possible in the defence ministry's investigation, according to ISAF spokesman Luke Knittig in Kabul.
Knittig warned against rash judgements of the soldiers allegedly involved in the incident and said they deserve a 'full and fair investigation.'
He added that the soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan 'deserve to be judged on the merits of their mission achievement and demonstrated commitment to helping the people of Afghanistan.'
The Bild report said the skull had apparently come from a mass grave but it was unclear whether it was that of an Afghan or a Russian killed during the Soviet occupation from 1979-89.
The newspaper said a total of five soldiers were involved in the incident, which it said it had learned about from another soldier.
Bild published the photographs with the faces of the men involved blacked out. A spokesman for the newspaper said it had turned down a request from the defence ministry to see the original photographs.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/article_1214477.php/German_soldiers_quizzed_over_Afghan_skull_incident __Roundup_