CANBERRA, July 11 : Defense Ministry of Australia Sunday confirmed
that its servicemen have left Afghanistan in recent weeks which brought
its military presence in the war-battered country officially to an end.
Australia announced in April that it would remove its remaining troops
by September in line with the US decision to end its military operations
in the war-torn country.
Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton has told Sky News that
Australia’s last supporting forces have been brought back to Australia.
Dutton has emphasized that their military mission is ended in
coordination with US and will take part in any other campaign led by
United States.
The country recently had only 80 troops who were commissioned for
protecting the Kabul based embassy and for carrying out diplomatic
missions.
In April this year, Australia had announced to pull out all its troops
as US had decided to end its military engagement by September 11 the
date which has been changed to the August 31st.
Australia had deployed 38 thousand men in uniform from which 41 had been
killed and its aerial forces have left Afghanistan back in 2013.
Australian forces have largely been accused of committing war crimes in
particular in southern Helmand province. Australian servicemen who have
been returned from Afghanistan now asked their government to conduct
investigation as cases of committing suicide surged among those who were
deployed to Afghanistan. Investigation over alleged war crime is also
going on in Australia.
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