Liberia video troops to be quizzed

TWO soldiers at the centre of a peacekeeping scandal where they taunted civilians with their guns are to be questioned in the coming weeks.

The two were recorded on a popular internet website pointing their weapons at locals in Liberia and pretending to fire at them.

The incident has caused outrage within the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence as the reports coincided with the return home of the last battalion of Irish troops from the west African state.

The record of Irish peacekeepers in Liberia has been praised by UN and non-governmental bodies.

The two soldiers have been “positively identified” by military investigators and face serious charges.

A third solider, who recorded the incident and uploaded it onto the YouTube website, has also been identified. He was questioned last Friday by military police and also faces possible disciplinary charges.

A Defence Forces’ spokesman said military police were in the process of identifying a fourth solider, seen on the video standing beside a military vehicle watching his colleagues.

“Three have been positively identified and one has been questioned. The other two will be questioned in the course of the investigation in the coming weeks,” said the spokesman.

The Defence Forces asked YouTube to take the clip off its site after it came to their attention last Tuesday.

The poorly edited video, heavily dubbed with the sound of fake machine gun fire, was seen by more than 450 people before its removal.

Named, The Irish Army at War, the clip was posted by a user known as ptmfilms.

Defence sources yesterday said the two soldiers pretending to fire their weapons would probably be questioned informally at first by military police, but most likely under caution.

“At the end of the investigation, the military police will recommend whether charges be brought against any of the people,” he said.

The recommendation goes to the general officer commanding (GOC) of the brigade, in this case the southern brigade.

“The recommendation will be reviewed by his legal officer, who will decide if the charges are correct and if the evidence is there,” said the source.

The legal officer’s recommendation will then be decided upon by the GOC.

Under the Defence Act, members can be subject to a range of disciplinary charges the most serious being court martial.

The solider suspected of uploading the video may also face charges as personnel are not allowed to release images to the public without clearance.