FALLUJAH, Iraq -- Human rights experts have said American forces may have committed a war crime when they sent fleeing Iraqi civilians back into embattled Fallujah. The experts said recognized laws of war, including several articles of the Geneva Conventions, require military forces to protect civilians as refugees and forbid returning them to a combat zone, the New York Times reported Saturday.
"This is highly problematical conduct in terms of exposing people to grave danger by returning them to an area where fighting is going on," said Jordan Paust, a law professor at the University of Houston and a former Army prosecutor.
James Ross, senior legal adviser to Human Rights Watch, said: "If that's what happened, it would be a war crime."
About 300 refugees were detained by American soldiers Thursday as they left southern Fallujah. The women and children were allowed to proceed while the men were tested for residues left by the handling explosives. All tested negative, but they were sent back.
A Defense Department spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, defended the actions of the American troops. "The rules of engagement are researched and vetted, and our forces closely follow them," he said.
