Operation Burnham
2010 military operation in Afghanistan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Operation Burnham?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Operation Burnham was a joint military operation undertaken by the New Zealand Special Air Service and elements of the Afghan Crisis Response Unit and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan's Tirgiran Valley on 21–22 October 2010. Operation Burnham became the subject of the investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson's book Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the meaning of honour, which alleged that New Zealand forces had committed war crimes against civilians in the Naik and Khak Khudday Dad villages.[1][2][3]
Operation Burnham | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the War in Afghanistan | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
New Zealand Afghanistan United States | Taliban | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
60-70 NZSAS Afghan Crisis Response Unit 3 or more helicopters | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 NZSAS injured | Unknown |
Though the New Zealand Defence Force initially denied that the operation had occurred in those villages, they subsequently confirmed that NZSAS forces had entered one of the villages mentioned in the book.[4][5][6] Media and public interest led to calls for an official inquiry, which was rejected by the-then Prime Minister Bill English.[7][8] In April 2018, Attorney-General David Parker of the Labour-led coalition government announced that the Government would be holding an inquiry into Operation Burnham and the allegations in Hit & Run.[1][9] In December 2018, the New Zealand Government confirmed that they would be holding an inquiry but that it would be held behind closed doors.[10][11]
In mid–June 2019, the Afghan villagers withdrew from the Operation Burnham inquiry, with their lawyer Deborah Manning citing that they had become disillusioned with the inquiry process.[12][13] In September 2019, the former Defence Force chief Sir Jerry Mateparae admitted that the Defence Force's briefings to the-then Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman had been inaccurate but denied that the military had engaged in a cover-up.[14][15] The Burnham Inquiry's report was released in late July 2020. While acknowledging that five people including a child had been killed during Operation Burnham, the report concluded that the NZ Defence Force had not covered up casualties and had abided by the rules of engagement and international law.[16][17]