Australia would consider compensating family of Iraqi air strike victims

AFTER news of Australia’s involvement with civilian deaths, questions are beginning to be asked. Do we need to foot the bill?

QUESTIONS are circulating over whether Australia should compensate the family of Iraqi civilians who were killed in an air strike with an Australian Super Hornet.

The Seven Network approached Minister for Defence Marise Payne on Thursday asking whether the Australian government would consider compensation to the families of the young family that were killed when the strike hit their home in Mosul in May last year.

A recently married husband and wife, along with two children, were “feared dead” after the RAAF Super Hornet fired a GPS-guided bomb towards two Islamic State snipers who were shooting at local forces. The target was a building in West Mosul at the height of clashes to liberate the city from the terror group last year.

According to Amnesty International, the 27-year-old man and the 20-year-old woman were just 20 days into their marriage when the bomb hit in the Islah al Zirae neighbourhood.

Deputy Chief of Joint Operations Major General Greg Bilton said it’s possible Islamic State were using the family as human shields.

“We were getting dressed to leave and my brother’s family were still getting dressed and putting jackets on the children,” an unidentified relative who survived told Amnesty International.

“I set off with my wife and children and we turned the corner and heard an air strikes. I ran back and the house had caved in. My brother died. My sister in law [wife of another brother] also died.”

According to monitoring publication AirWars the incident is “the third such admission of harm by Canberra’s military, and one that further sets the Royal Australian Air Force apart from most other Coalition partners which continue to deny civilian casualties from their own air strikes”.

The report led Seven News to ask Senator Payne, who had previously described the deaths as “very regrettable”, whether Australia should be held financially accountable if they were to claim compensation.

“That hasn’t been raised with me but such support payments have been made in the past and I’m sure it would be considered on its merits,” she said after addressing the Lowy Institute conference on Australia and the Pacific.

A potential figure is yet to be discussed publicly.

“The Iraqi government and the US-led coalition, including Australia, must acknowledge the grave loss of civilian life caused by the Mosul operation, as well as their role in it,” Diana Sayed, Crisis Campaigner at Amnesty International Australia, told news.com.au.

“They must ensure that reported violations are impartially investigated and those responsible are held accountable.

“The people of Mosul deserve justice and there must be reparation for victims and their families. And the world needs to see that the lessons of the battle of Mosul are being learned so that civilians caught up in other battles are spared such catastrophic consequences.

“Amnesty International continues to call for an independent commission to be established, tasked with ensuring that any instances where there is credible evidence that violations of international law took place, effective investigations are carried, and the findings made public.”

Compensation for the family who lost two loved ones in an Aus Hornet strike on #Mosul last May? Defence Minister @MarisePayne tells #7News a request 'would be considered'. @benwalsby @amnestyOz @PearsonElaine pic.twitter.com/i8jOL3An5z

— Tim Lester (@telester) April 5, 2018

Two “thorough investigations” revealed that “on the balance of probabilities, our strike resulted in the death of two people and the injury of two others,” deputy chief of joint operations, Major General Greg Bilton confirmed.

“A single precision-guided munition was released, hitting the second storey, collapsing the defensive fighting position inside the building.

“We deeply regret the loss of civilians, and it’s not lost on people that this has happened, but at the same time we pride ourselves on trying to have absolutely zero civilian casualties.”

Good to hear that @MarisePayne is open to considering compensation for families of those killed in Australian airstrike https://t.co/blWp8J7jl2

— Elaine Pearson (@PearsonElaine) April 5, 2018

Last year the Human Rights Watch demanded Australia and the United States pay compensation for civilian deaths in anti-IS operations, claiming “both Trump and Turnbull should commit to providing compensation for wrongful civilian deaths and injuries as required by international law,” HRW’s Iraq researcher Belkis Wille said in an essay.

“Australia’s transparency on civilian casualties has been woefully lacking.”

Malcolm Turnbull has defended the defence force, after an investigation found an Australian air strike "likely" killed a newlywed couple in Iraq. @lcalcutt #AusPol #9News pic.twitter.com/B0BiX7PPpw

— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) March 29, 2018

Mosul, the Iraqi capital of the so-called IS caliphate, fell in July after a nine-month campaign.

At the time of the incident, Australian and coalition aircraft were supporting Iraqi security forces carrying out clearance operations on the ground.

They were coming under fire from two snipers in the second storey of a house and the Australian air strike happened within minutes.

Maj-Gen Bilton said a thorough assessment was conducted to confirm it was a valid target.

An unmanned drone flying overhead provided “situational awareness” in and around the target, including three minutes of footage of the location before the strike and several minutes of footage from the Australian aircraft.

The RAAF fighter jet dropped a single weapon — a GPS-guided bomb with a delay fuse — collapsing the second storey. No civilian casualties were identified during a post-strike review, Maj-Gen Bilton said.

— Additional reporting by Lisa Martin

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