RSN Fundraising Banner
FB Share
Email This Page
add comment
Print

Excerpt: "Doctors Without Borders, whose hospital in northern Afghanistan was bombed by the U.S. military, said on Thursday that a U.S. tank forced its way through the closed gates of the compound, contravening an agreement that they would be informed."

U.S. soldiers walk into the charred remains of the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Thursday, October 15, 2015. The attack, which killed a number of hospital staff and patients, was intended to back up Afghan forces fighting to dislodge Taliban insurgents who overran the strategic city earlier in the month. (photo: Najim Rahim/AP)
U.S. soldiers walk into the charred remains of the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Thursday, October 15, 2015. The attack, which killed a number of hospital staff and patients, was intended to back up Afghan forces fighting to dislodge Taliban insurgents who overran the strategic city earlier in the month. (photo: Najim Rahim/AP)


Doctors Without Borders: US Tank Forced Its Way Into Afghan Hospital Destroyed in Airstrike, Possibly Damaging Evidence

By Associated Press

16 October 15

 

medical charity whose hospital in northern Afghanistan was bombed by the U.S. military said on Thursday that a U.S. tank forced its way through the closed gates of the compound, contravening an agreement that they would be informed.

Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, said they were informed after the "intrusion" that it was by a delegation from a joint U.S.-NATO-Afghan team investigating the Oct. 3 bombing of the hospital.

The incident violated an agreement with investigators that MSF "would be given notice before each step of the procedure involving the organization's personnel and assets."

"Their unannounced and forced entry damaged property, destroyed potential evidence and caused stress and fear," it said in a statement, adding that an MSF team had arrived at the hospital earlier in the day.

Authorities in Kunduz and the U.S. military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The strike on the MSF trauma hospital in the northern city of Kunduz killed 10 patients and 12 staff. Another two staffers are now presumed dead, the group said this week, with all other MSF staff accounted for.

U.S. President Barack Obama apologized for the bombing, which the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John F. Campbell called a "mistake."

The bombing happened as Afghan forces battled Taliban insurgents who had stormed Kunduz on Sept. 28 and briefly held the city of 300,000, the first provincial capital they have overrun since being forced from power in 2001.

Government troops have largely retaken the city, where authorities say life is returning to normal. Casualty figures have not yet been made public.

The seizure was a grave embarrassment for the government of President Ashraf Ghani. On Thursday, Obama said he would keep nearly 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through most of next year and 5,500 when he leaves office in 2017, throwing a lifeline to the struggling Afghan forces.

e-max.it: your social media marketing partner
Email This Page

 

THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community.

RSNRSN