NATO's Human Shield

Human Shields and Illegal Orders - British Military Tactics in Helmand
by Anthony C Heaford --- Army serial number 30088729 --- Work-in-Progress

My photos below from summer 2012 Afghanistan show a couple of issues British soldiers faced in Helmand and our tactical responses. During a 6 July a Combat Logistics Patrol (CLP, a resupply convoy) an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in a culvert exploded between vehicles and split our convoy in two. Faced with a potential IED in a culvert in front of us, our Afghan National Army (ANA) allies forced civilians to stand by the culvert as a human shield while our convoy passed. When faced with stone throwing and equipment stealing children on CLPs, the British army's tactic was to throw stones back.

My raw photos of the Human Shield that protected our convoy from a potential IED in Helmand, Afghanistan on 6 July 2012

A Human Shield protects our convoy from a potential IED in the culvert, 6 July 2012 (on Highway 1?, to be confirmed)

Children stone our patrol in Nadi-Ali district; the motorbike in the distance is the Afghan Local Police coming to stop them

Children stopped stoning us after they see my camera, scared of their photo being passed to the Afghan Local Police I guess

Human Shields

The use of a civilian Human Shield to protect a NATO convoy from a possible IED is clearly a War Crime, but responsibility is difficult to attribute. The British commander didn't place them there, but he didn't stop their use as a Human Shield either. I struggle to blame the Afghan security forces - why would they risk their lives when due to their commander's corruption they were 40% undermanned (ghost soldiers), short of kit and often unpaid. Trying to hold an Afghan officer to account would be pointless; if we want to stop such practices then accountability should be with British and NATO commanders - the Generals and Government Ministers under whose command this happened. If they negligently place ill equipped / trained soldiers in harms way, as happened all over Helmand, then they should be held fully accountable for the consequences.

Getting Stoned

I was told to take a bag-of-stones on my first top-cover duty to throw at kids. My initial reaction was disbelief, asking if they were serious and if that the best we could do? Then I asked if I could get a catapult off Amazon (who delivered to Camp Bastion). My reasoning being if that was our best defence then I wanted to be well armed, plus we'd been told about a Taliban sniper who bypassed our body armour by shooting soldiers in the arm pit when they lifted their arm to cock their weapon. Exposing my armpit to stone a child seemed an unreasonable risk to me. I didn't get the catapult but I was given a bag of stones to take with me on that first 21 June 2012 patrol to Nadi-Ali. There were three sets of stone-thrower children waiting for us on our return journey from Nadi-Ali, all in place along the canal road they predicted we'd drive back on. I didn't get a clear look at the first group as they were scattered by Afghan Local Police (ALP) on motorbikes, shown approaching in the first photo below. Due to poor communications (our personal role radios weren't used) I didn't know who they were and prepared to fire. I ducked down to my driver first, telling him what I'd seen and preparing to fire. He stopped me and told me they'd been forewarned of the ALP's approach over the radio but hadn't bothered to tell me - a test of my alertness I suspect given this was my first top-cover duty. I got back in the cupola in time to get the photo, showing my reactions were spot on. The second set of stone throwers were on the far side of the canal and stopped stoning us as soon as they saw me take their photo. The third set of stone throwers' reaction was instant, the nearest boy hiding a stone under his arm as soon as he saw my camera.

Afghan Local Police coming to stop the first group of stone throwers. Seeing the ALP jump-off their bike like Starskie & Hutch to chase the fleeing children was very funny

Second group: children stoning our vehicles from the far side of the canal. Two young boys throwing, one older guy watching, & a young girl in red close by

The children stopped throwing stones after they saw me taking their photo, scared they'd be reported to Afghan Local Police I guess
*Note the girl in red

Third group: the boy in white hides a stone under his arm as soon as he sees my camera. There were two young boys throwing, one older guy watching, & a girl in red again

Escalation of Force Against Children

British army tactics to address stone throwing children in 2012 Helmand did not work - that's why the kids were still stoning us. I was told - ordered within my own Light Vehicles Platoon - to take a bag of stones to throw at children everytime I did a top-cover futy for the Recovery Mechanics Platoon (Recces). The Recces saw my alternative tactics work and defended me from officers in my own platoon who threatened me, saying I was endangering soldiers lives because I refused to stone kids. The Recces asked me to do six top-cover duties for them, so I must have been doing something right. One time during a final patrol briefing we were told if the stones didn't scare the kids off, to fire mini-flares (incendiary munitions) so they 'bounce off the floor next to them' , and to threaten them - the children - with loaded pistols if the mini-flares didn't scare them off. The offensive use of incendiary munitions is a War Crime and although I only heard that order once and never saw it carried out, I have heard two confirmable reports of British mini-flares being fired towards Afghan civilians. One was at an Afghan male walking with a wheelbarrow towards some British soldiers; two British soldiers were killed by an IED in a wheelbarrow. The other was at a civilian vehicle that got too close to a British military vehicle.