Airstrike Hits Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Afghanistan - nytimes

The U.S. military said “there may have been collateral damage” in Kunduz. Doctors Without Borders said its hospital had been hit. President Obama offered his condolences for the deaths.

KABUL, Afghanistan — A crowded hospital in the embattled city of Kunduz that treats war wounded came under attack on Saturday and the American military acknowledged that it may have killed 19 patients, staff members and others at the facility while firing on insurgents nearby.

The attack, which the military said in a statement might have been “collateral damage” that occurred while engaging militants, drew a fierce international outcry. The head of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, condemned it and called for a “thorough and impartial investigation.” It also renewed scrutiny of the United States military’s record of causing civilian casualties, which has alienated the Afghan public and often undermined relations with the government here.

At least 12 staff members and seven patients — including three children — were killed when the hospital, run by Doctors Without Borders, was badly damaged in the airstrike early Saturday in Kunduz. At least 37 were wounded, and some were flown to Kabul for treatment.

The United States military, in a statement, confirmed an airstrike at 2:15 a.m., saying that it had been targeting individuals “who were threatening the force” and that “there may have been collateral damage to a nearby medical facility.”

One American official, who requested anonymity to discuss early reports of an event now under official investigation, said the attack may have been carried out by an American AC-130 gunship that was supporting Special Operations forces on the ground in Kunduz. The top United States commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John F. Campbell, said that American troops had come under fire in the vicinity of the hospital and that an investigation into the airstrike had begun.

President Obama issued a statement offering condolences to the victims in what he called “the tragic incident” in Kunduz. However, noting the Defense Department investigation, he said “we will await the results of that inquiry before making a definitive judgment as to the circumstances of this tragedy.” 

The airstrike on Saturday set off fires that were still burning hours later, and a nurse who managed to climb out of the debris described seeing colleagues so badly burned that they had died.

Another nurse, Lajos Zoltan Jecs, described looking into the intensive care unit and seeing the bodies of six patients burning in their beds. “There are no words for how terrible it was,” he said in a statement issued by the aid organization.

The group, which is also known by its French initials, MSF, said the bombing continued for 30 minutes after the United States and Afghan militaries were informed by telephone that the hospital was being bombed.

“All parties to the conflict including in Kabul and Washington were clearly informed of the precise location [GPS Coordinates] of the MSF facilities — hospital, guesthouse, office,” the group said in a statement.

“MSF urgently seeks clarity on exactly what took place and how this terrible event could have happened,” it said. Doctors Without Borders is highly respected for its work in conflict zones and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. 

Video of the hospital grounds posted Saturday showed fires still burning, blackened walls and, in one building, a collapsed ceiling. One side of one building appeared to be pockmarked by bullets or possibly shrapnel, suggesting that there could have been fighting there. But it was impossible to tell whether the marks were new.  The organization described the facility as “very badly damaged.”

Doctors Without Borders said 105 patients and caretakers had been at the hospital, along with 80 staff members. The hospital was “partially destroyed” in the bombing, the group said, adding that it had been “hit several times.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the bombing.  “This is an appalling tragedy,” said Jean-Nicolas Marti, the head of the organization’s delegation in Afghanistan. “Such attacks against health workers and facilities undermine the capacity of humanitarian organizations to assist the Afghan people at a time when they most urgently need it.”

The United Nations says that 19,368 civilians have been killed in fighting in Afghanistan since 2009, when the world body began to keep detailed statistics. Nearly 33,300 have been wounded. - Read More at nytimes

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