SYDNEY, Australia — Australia will strip military awards from a group of war veterans over allegations that those under their command committed war crimes in Afghanistan, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday.

A four-year inquiry chaired by Maj. Gen. Paul Brereton concluded in 2020 that there was credible information of the alleged unlawful killing of 39 people by or involving 25 Australian Defence Force members, as part of a culture of forcing junior recruits to kill defenseless captives to “blood” them for combat.

As part of delivering the final recommendations of the inquiry, known as the Brereton Report, Marles had written to several officers who served in Afghanistan, to inform them that medals awarded for service would be withdrawn, the defense minister said.

“The allegations which are the subject of the Brereton Report are arguably the most serious allegations of Australian war crimes in our history,” Marles told Parliament on Thursday.

“This will always be a matter of national shame.”

The government has not named the officers who will lose awards or said how many will be affected.

Following the recommendations of the report, 19 current and former members of Australia’s military were referred to a special investigator to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to prosecute.

A former soldier was charged with war crimes last year.

Australia participated in a NATO-led international force that trained Afghan security forces and fought the Taliban for two decades following the removal of the Islamist militants from power in 2001.

More than 39,000 Australian troops served in Afghanistan and 41 were killed.