Kunduz hospital bombing: Medecins Sans Frontieres

demands independent probe into Afghanistan 'war crime' ...

Kunduz hospital bombing: Medecins Sans Frontieres demands independent probe into Afghanistan
'war crime' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
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Kunduz hospital bombing: Medecins Sans Frontieres demands independent probe into Afghanistan
'war crime'
UpdatedOctober 05, 2015 08:49:29

Photo:Fires burn in part of the Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital after it was hit by an air strike on
October 3 (AFP: MSF)Related Story:Afghan hospital bombing that left 22 dead 'possibly
criminal'Related Story:Airstrike on Afghan charity Cape Town Obstetrician hospital 'continued after
US informed'Map:Afghanistan
Medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has demanded an independent international
inquiry into a suspected US air strike that killed 22 people in one of its Afghan hospitals, branding
the attack a "war crime".
The group, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said patients burned to death in their beds
during a bombing raid that continued for half an hour after US and Afghan authorities were
informed the hospital had been had been hit.

MSF said a US military probe into the incident, which occurred during a push by Afghan security
forces to retake the key northern city of Kunduz from Taliban insurgents, was not enough.
Key points:At least 22 people killed in strike on hospital run by MSFUS promises investigation, does
not admit being behind strikeMSF calls for independent inquiry into "war crime", pulls most staff out
of the area
"Relying only on an internal investigation by a party to the conflict would be wholly insufficient,"
MSF general director Christopher Stokes said in a statement.

"Under the clear presumption that a war crime has been committed, MSF demands that a full and
transparent investigation into the event be conducted by an independent international body."
Battles were still raging around Kunduz, a city of 300,000, as government forces backed by US air
power sought to drive out Taliban militants who seized the city almost a week ago in one of their
biggest victories in the 14-year war.
Decomposing bodies littered the streets and trapped residents said that food was running scarce.
Any confirmation of US responsibility for the hospital deaths would deal a blow to Afghan president
Ashraf Ghani's policy of forging closer ties with the US. His predecessor Hamid Karzai fell out with
his backers in Washington in part over the number of civilians killed by US strikes.
But the Afghan leader will be torn between distancing himself from Washington and the need for
American firepower to help his forces drive insurgents out of Kunduz.
The US military said it conducted an air strike "in the vicinity" of the MSF hospital as it targeted
Taliban insurgents who were directly firing on US military personnel. It has not acknowledged
hitting the hospital.
US president Barack Obama offered condolences to the victims of what he called "the tragic
incident".

UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said the hospital assault was "inexcusable" and also said it
could amount to a war crime.

"This event is utterly tragic, inexcusable and

possibly even criminal," he said.
The US-led coalition force in Afghanistan said it
expected to complete its preliminary multinational investigation within days.
In Kabul, the Ministry of Defence said Taliban
fighters had attacked the hospital and were
using the building "as a human shield". But
MSF denied this.
"Not a single member of our staff reported any fighting inside the MSF hospital compound prior to
the US air strike on Saturday morning," Mr Stokes said.
'Patients burned to death as they lay in their beds'

Photo:Doctors Without Borders staff in shock after their hospital is bombed in Kunduz, Afghanistan.
(Twitter: Medecins Sans Frontieres UK)
MSF said some 105 patients and their caregivers, as well as more than 80 international and local
MSF staff, were in the hospital at the time of the bombing.
"The bombs hit and then we heard the plane circle round," said Heman Nagarathnam, MSF's head of
program in northern Afghanistan.
"There was a pause, and then more bombs hit. This happened again and again. When I made it out

from the office, the main hospital building was engulfed in flames.

External Link:MSF tweets damage to its hospital in Kunduz after bombing

"Those people that could had moved quickly to the building's two bunkers to seek safety. But
patients who were unable to escape burned to death as they lay in their beds."
The hospital's main building was completely gutted and some bodies of those trapped inside were
charred beyond recognition.
The dead included 12 MSF staff and 10 patients, among them three children.
In the wake of the bombing, MSF said it had shut down operations in Kunduz. Some staff had gone
to help treat the wounded at other hospitals outside of the city.
The hospital is the only medical facility in the whole north-eastern region of Afghanistan that can
deal with major war injuries. Its closure, even temporarily, could have a devastating impact on local
civilians.
"The MSF hospital is not functional anymore. All critical patients have been referred to other health
facilities and no MSF staff are working in our hospital," Kate Stegeman, a spokeswoman for the
charity, told AFP.
Ms Stegeman said she could not confirm whether the trauma centre would reopen.
AFP/Reuters
Topics:unrest-conflict-and-war,charities,terrorism,relief-and-aid-organisations,afghanistan
First postedOctober 05, 2015 07:40:50
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-05/msf-demands-probe-into-kunduz-hospital-bombing/6827040