A Marine Corps General has decided not to bring criminal changes against two officers whose unit was accused of killing as many as 19 Afghan civilians in 2007.
The Marines said that Lt General Samuel Helland, the commander of US Marine Corps Forces, Central Command, made the decision not to bring charges after reviewing the findings of a special tribunal that heard more than three weeks of testimony in January at Camp Lejuene, North Carolina, US.
The tribunal investigated allegations that as many as 19 Afghan civilians died when a unit of Marines special operations troops opened fire after a car bomb targeted their convoy in March 2007 in Nangahar Province.
The Marines said Lt Gen Helland determined the Marines in the convoy "acted appropriately and in accordance with the rules of engagement and tactics, techniques and procedures in place at the time in response to a complex attack."
It was the first time in more than 50 years the Marines have brought a Court of Inquiry. The panel, comprised of two Marine Corps colonels and a lieutenant colonel, only considered the actions of the company's commander, 38-year-old Major Fred C Galvin, and a platoon leader, Captain Vincent J Noble, 29.
The Marines said "administrative, manning and training issues" related to the incident were uncovered by the court's investigation. Those unspecified issues have been forwarded to the commander of the Marine Corps' special operations command for action.
The Corps also said Galvin, Noble and a third officer - Capt Robert Olsen - will face administrative actions. It was not immediately clear what those actions might be.
Citing witness accounts, Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission concluded the Marines fired indiscriminately at vehicles and pedestrians in six different locations on a 10-mile stretch of road. Nearly a dozen Marines told the court they heard gunfire after the bombing and called the unit's fire a disciplined response to a well-planned ambush.
Galvin and several other Marines were sent back to Camp Lejeune after the shooting. The rest of the unit was ordered to leave Afghanistan and returned to the ships of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Persian Gulf.
An Army investigation later concluded that 50 people were injured and 19 were killed. The brigade commander in charge of regular forces in the province publicly apologised for the shootings, saying he was ashamed of what had happened.