Afghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death
When we first revealed our little snippet of the Dasht-i-Leili mass grave story in mid-June, the Pentagon effectively denied that atrocities had occurred. They also denied that there were U.S. soldiers nearby and that U.S. personnel had no knowledge of what was happening. We can now expose the Pentagon for lying. Produced and directed by Irish filmmaker and former BBC producer Jamie Dolan, the film follows the surrender of thousands of prisoners to US forces in Afghanistan following the siege of Kunduz.
According to the film, around 3,000 prisoners were forced into airtight containers before being loaded onto trucks and transported to Sheberghan Prison. As the prisoners began screaming for air, Afghan soldiers allied with the United States opened fire directly on the truck, killing many of the prisoners. The rest endured four days of excruciating car rides, thirsty as they licked the skin and sweat of fellow inmates and even sucked blood from open wounds.
When the truck arrived and soldiers opened the container, most of the people inside were dead, witnesses said. They also said U.S. Special Forces moved containers of the living and dead into the desert and stood by while survivors were shot and buried. Up to 3,000 bodies are now buried in mass graves. Angry human rights groups and lawyers have called for an investigation, but the UN special envoy for Afghanistan has refused to conduct any UN-backed investigation until the Afghan government protects witnesses. Two witnesses in the film have been killed.
