LONDON, Dec 16: The Amnesty International has renewed its call for an inquiry into the massacre at Qila-i-Jangi after unprecedented video footage showed British SAS troops fighting alongside anti-Taliban forces at the time.

The Amnesty described the video - taken by an Afghan cameraman - as alarming and said it strengthened the case for an urgent inquiry into what happened at the fort.

“By blocking an inquiry the U.K. government and others are adding to a suspicion that something seriously untoward took place,” a spokesman said. “A proper investigation could clear the air and potentially offer useful lessons on the question of how best to hold and transport prisoners in Afghanistan and also how best to safeguard the lives of both prisoners and prison guard,” he added.

Exactly why and how the prisoners’ rebellion at the fortress started and was put down has never been explained by the US or Britain.

US special forces are shown in the video using a satellite phone which they used to direct helicopters and aircraft on to targets.

The MoD insists that British forces in the vicinity of the fort near Mazar operated according to international law and followed their own rules of engagement. Mr Hoon has said Britain had told Alliance commanders that it expected them to respect the rights of prisoners according to “applicable international standards”.

Shortly after the events at the fort, he told MPs: “After Taliban fighters held at Qala-i-Jangi fort overpowered their armoury, British troops went to the aid of their US colleagues and attempted to recover, under heavy fire, two US personnel apparently captured by the Taliban fighters”.

But he has declined to answer questions tabled by the Labour MP, Paul Marsden, about which British forces participated in the military action at the fort, and about their activities in Afghanistan. —Dawn-Guardian News Service