More than 2,000 Afghan commandos who served alongside British Special Forces in Afghanistan were denied resettlement by the U.K. Special Forces, despite credible evidence of their service, according to a BBC report.
According to the news outlet, the confirmation of over 2,000 rejections first surfaced during court hearings earlier this month as part of a legal challenge filed by a former member of the Triples – the elite units composed of Commando Force 333 and Afghan Territorial Force 444 – who had fought alongside Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) high-risk missions against the Taliban.
The U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) confirmed the rejections to the BBC. The MOD initially denied the existence of a blanket policy blocking their resettlement, but court documents and media reports later confirmed that U.K. Special Forces command had veto power over the applications.
Critics argue this decision may have been intended to prevent former Afghan soldiers—some of whom were present during controversial U.K. military operations—from testifying in the war crimes inquiry.
The inquiry, launched in 2022, is investigating allegations that British forces unlawfully killed Afghan detainees and unarmed civilians during night raids. While the inquiry can compel witnesses residing in the U.K. to testify, it has no authority over those still in Afghanistan.
Some lawmakers and former military officials now worry that the mass rejections could be an attempt to avoid further scrutiny.
According to BBC, many of the rejected Afghan commandos remain in hiding, with reports indicating that some have been captured, tortured, or killed by the Taliban while waiting for resettlement decisions. The U.K. government has launched a review of the rejected applications, but more than a year later, it remains incomplete, leaving many in limbo.
Meanwhile, the MOD has defended its handling of the resettlement process, stating that there is no evidence to suggest a deliberate effort to block testimony in the war crimes inquiry.
