Yrys
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 11
- Points
- 430
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is Doctors Without Borders
Kunduz: US says Afghans requested air strike that hit MSF clinic
Afghan forces called in the air strike that hit a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic
in Kunduz, killing 22 people, a US general says. Gen John Campbell admitted that no
US forces had been under fire at the time, reversing an earlier statement. MSF says
Afghan attempts to justify the strike amount to "an admission of a war crime".
Afghan forces backed by the US have retaken much of Kunduz, which was overrun by
the Taliban last week. Twelve MSF staff members and 10 patients were killed when the
hospital was hit on Saturday by a US airstrike. MSF says it was a lifeline for thousands
in the city and in northern Afghanistan.
"We have now learned that on 3 October, Afghan forces advised that they were taking
fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from US air forces," said Gen Campbell,
the top commander of the US-led Nato coalition in Afghanistan.
"An air strike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were
accidentally struck." He expressed his "deepest condolences" over the civilian deaths.
Afghan conflict: Is it ever legal to bomb a hospital?
Responding to Gen Campbell's remarks, Christopher Stokes, the General Director of MSF,
accused the US of "attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government".
"The reality is the US dropped those bombs," Mr Stokes said. "The US hit a huge hospital full
of wounded patients and MSF staff. The US military remains responsible for the targets it hits,
even though it is part of a coalition.
"There can be no justification for this horrible attack. With such constant discrepancies in the US
and Afghan accounts of what happened, the need for a full transparent independent investigation
is ever more critical."
The Afghan defence ministry said on Saturday that "armed terrorists" were using the hospital
"as a position to target Afghan forces and civilians".
A day later, the Pentagon said a strike had been conducted against insurgents directly firing on
US forces - a claim Gen Campbell has now rolled back on.
MSF says none of its staff reported fighting inside the hospital compound prior to the strike,
though one local, Mohammad Arif, told the BBC Taliban militants had entered the hospital
building and there had been firing.
The Pentagon says a full, transparent investigation will be conducted into the incident. Gen
Campbell said the strike was carried out from an AC-130 gunship but declined to give further
details, including the rules of engagement under which US forces were operating. He said he
expected to receive a preliminary report into the incident within a couple of days.
Areas of Kunduz now controlled by government forces include the police chief's office, the
central square and the governor's compound. Residents ventured out of their homes and shops
reopened on Monday. However, pockets of Taliban resistance were reported on the outskirts
of Kunduz.
Who is saying what?
The Afghan defence ministry said "armed terrorists" were using the hospital "as a position
to target Afghan forces and civilians".
But MSF says the warring sides were well aware of the hospital's location, and that the bombing
went on for an hour despite repeated calls to US and Afghan military officials in Kabul and
Washington to call off the strikes. MSF also denied there were any militants in the hospital at the
time of the strikes and said the attack amounted to a war crime: "Not a single member of our staff
reported any fighting inside the hospital compound prior to the US air strike on Saturday morning."
On Monday, the US military changed its account of how the air strike came about, saying it was
requested by Afghan forces under Taliban fire. The US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Campbell,
also said no US forces had been under fire at the time, reversing an earlier statement, and acknowledged
that civilians were accidentally hit.
The US had previously said insurgents had been firing at American personnel.
Kunduz: US says Afghans requested air strike that hit MSF clinic
Afghan forces called in the air strike that hit a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic
in Kunduz, killing 22 people, a US general says. Gen John Campbell admitted that no
US forces had been under fire at the time, reversing an earlier statement. MSF says
Afghan attempts to justify the strike amount to "an admission of a war crime".
Afghan forces backed by the US have retaken much of Kunduz, which was overrun by
the Taliban last week. Twelve MSF staff members and 10 patients were killed when the
hospital was hit on Saturday by a US airstrike. MSF says it was a lifeline for thousands
in the city and in northern Afghanistan.
"We have now learned that on 3 October, Afghan forces advised that they were taking
fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from US air forces," said Gen Campbell,
the top commander of the US-led Nato coalition in Afghanistan.
"An air strike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were
accidentally struck." He expressed his "deepest condolences" over the civilian deaths.
Afghan conflict: Is it ever legal to bomb a hospital?
Responding to Gen Campbell's remarks, Christopher Stokes, the General Director of MSF,
accused the US of "attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government".
"The reality is the US dropped those bombs," Mr Stokes said. "The US hit a huge hospital full
of wounded patients and MSF staff. The US military remains responsible for the targets it hits,
even though it is part of a coalition.
"There can be no justification for this horrible attack. With such constant discrepancies in the US
and Afghan accounts of what happened, the need for a full transparent independent investigation
is ever more critical."
The Afghan defence ministry said on Saturday that "armed terrorists" were using the hospital
"as a position to target Afghan forces and civilians".
A day later, the Pentagon said a strike had been conducted against insurgents directly firing on
US forces - a claim Gen Campbell has now rolled back on.
MSF says none of its staff reported fighting inside the hospital compound prior to the strike,
though one local, Mohammad Arif, told the BBC Taliban militants had entered the hospital
building and there had been firing.
The Pentagon says a full, transparent investigation will be conducted into the incident. Gen
Campbell said the strike was carried out from an AC-130 gunship but declined to give further
details, including the rules of engagement under which US forces were operating. He said he
expected to receive a preliminary report into the incident within a couple of days.
Areas of Kunduz now controlled by government forces include the police chief's office, the
central square and the governor's compound. Residents ventured out of their homes and shops
reopened on Monday. However, pockets of Taliban resistance were reported on the outskirts
of Kunduz.
Who is saying what?
The Afghan defence ministry said "armed terrorists" were using the hospital "as a position
to target Afghan forces and civilians".
But MSF says the warring sides were well aware of the hospital's location, and that the bombing
went on for an hour despite repeated calls to US and Afghan military officials in Kabul and
Washington to call off the strikes. MSF also denied there were any militants in the hospital at the
time of the strikes and said the attack amounted to a war crime: "Not a single member of our staff
reported any fighting inside the hospital compound prior to the US air strike on Saturday morning."
On Monday, the US military changed its account of how the air strike came about, saying it was
requested by Afghan forces under Taliban fire. The US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Campbell,
also said no US forces had been under fire at the time, reversing an earlier statement, and acknowledged
that civilians were accidentally hit.
The US had previously said insurgents had been firing at American personnel.
