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Otago University professor of peace studies Richard Jackson said the defence force needed to be held more accountable.

Appointing an independent person to oversee the defence force could prevent some of the problems highlighted in the inquiry, Jackson said.

"Over time, we've seen more involvement with the fighting prong of our defence forces, rather than the peace keeping role that they were doing much more in the 1990s," he said.

"There have to be greater mechanisms of accountability."

The government will look at establishing an independent defence force watchdog, following the release of the scathing report on its raids of two Afghan villages 10 years ago.

The report found a civilian child was killed during the SAS mission in 2010, but the death was justified under international law.

The defence force did not plot to cover up the casualties, the inquiry found. However, it had denied claims that civilians had been killed and had not corrected that misinformation.

Chief of Defence Air Marshal Kevin Short has apologised for providing inaccurate information to the public and accepted the report's recommendations.

The recommendations included:

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government would implement the recommended changes in the Burnham Inquiry report as quickly as possible, if re-elected.

RNZ

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Operation Burnham: Calls for New Zealand Defence Force to apologise to Afghanistan villages where civilians were killed - Newshub