ISLAMABAD, Dec1: The US-led coalition fighting in Afghanistan and the Northern Alliance came under fire on Saturday for ruling out an inquiry into the killing of hundreds of Taliban prisoners.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, dismissing calls for an investigation, said in an interview with the BBC: “The idea that at this moment we could have a judicial inquiry into the difficult circumstances of Mazar-i-Sharif is frankly not on.”

Amnesty condemned Britain’s stance. It said “serious abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law may have been committed”.

“The rejection of an inquiry by the United Kingdom into what is apparently the single most bloody incident of the war ... raises questions about their commitment to the rule of law,” Amnesty said in a statement.

“What can there be to fear from an inquiry except the truth and a clear message that impunity will not be tolerated?”

Amnesty said an international investigation involving the United Nations should be considered if the US-led coalition refused to do its own.

The human rights group had earlier called for an investigation to be led by Britain, the United States and the Northern Alliance, to make urgent recommendations on how to avoid similar carnage in future.

“An urgent inquiry should look into what triggered this violent incident, including any shortcomings in the holding and processing of the prisoners, and into the proportionality of the response by United Front, US and UK forces,” Amnesty said on Tuesday.

The UN human rights commissioner, Mary Robinson, also called for an investigation.

“There are a lot of disturbing reports coming out,” Robinson told BBC World Service news. “If there are contraventions of standards — prisoners or civilians — the leaders of forces should be disqualified from a future government.

“And the worst perpetrators should be brought to justice,” Robinson said, adding that a probe would be “a standard-setting exercise”.

“It’s a reminder to all parties that the Geneva Conventions apply and international humanitarian law applies,” she added.

The Geneva Convention on rights in wartime bans all indiscriminate attacks and makes it illegal to order that there shall be no survivors.—AFP