German soldiers massacre Afghans, then cover-up

This video from 2007 says about itself:

This video showing a German army instructor telling one of his soldiers to envision African-Americans in the Bronx while firing his machine gun was broadcast Saturday.

The video, coming after scandals involving photos of German soldiers posing with skulls in Afghanistan and the abuse of recruits by instructors, seemed likely to raise more questions about training practices in Germany’s conscript army.

From Der Spiegel in Germany:

05/20/2011

Deadly Clashes in Afghanistan

German Soldiers Fired Deliberately at Protesters

By Matthias Gebauer and John Goetz

The German military has corrected its initial statement on protests in Afghanistan this week that left 12 people dead. The Bundeswehr has now admitted that it deliberately fired on demonstrators who were attacking a German base.

Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr, has released new and explosive details about a violent altercation between demonstrators and German soldiers in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday that left 12 dead and dozens wounded, including two German soldiers. In a statement posted on its website Friday morning, the military contradicted its earlier claims and admitted that German soldier had deliberately fired upon the demonstrators. The Bundeswehr also said it was possible that the shots had been responsible for at least one death.

The incident occurred Wednesday morning in front of a German military camp in the northern Afghan city of Taloqan, in Takhar province, as a funeral march was being held for four people, including two women, who had been killed by US troops in a nighttime operation against suspected terrorists. The Bundeswehr had previously claimed that German soldiers had only fired warning shots to protect their camp from further attacks by enraged demonstrators taking part in the funeral procession. …

Until now, the Bundeswehr had denied any responsibility for the deaths of at least four demonstrators outside the camp’s gates. On Wednesday evening, the Bundeswehr’s website still said that the military had “no evidence” that attackers had been shot and killed by German soldiers. In several interviews, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière had previously only said that he wanted to wait for the results of an investigation before making any concrete statements on the events. …

“In three or perhaps four cases,” the report states, there were “shots at violent attackers” targeting the “torso or the arms and hands.” One attacker was apparently hit “in the neck-head region.”

The new Bundeswehr statement suggests that German soldiers might have also been responsible for killing some of the protesters. According to experts, shots fired from modern firearms are almost always fatal when they hit the head, neck or chest. Doctors in the city claim that the protests, which raged in the central part of the city over the course of the entire day, left at least 12 dead and more than 80 wounded.

The new German Defence Minister Thomas de Maizière has introduced his plans to “reform” the armed forces: here.