On October 3, 2015, an Air Force AC-130U aircraft attacked the Kunduz Trauma Center operated by MÃÆ' Â © decins Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨res (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders in Kunduz city, in the province of the same name in northern Afghanistan. It has been reported that at least 42 people were killed and more than 30 were injured.
MÃÆ' Â © decins Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨res condemned the incident, saying all the rival parties had been notified of the location of the previous hospital, and that the airstrike was deliberate, violating international humanitarian law and MSF working on war crimes presumed.
The US military initially said the air strikes were carried out to defend US troops on land. Later, the US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John F. Campbell, said the air strikes were requested by Afghan forces coming under Taliban fire. Campbell said the attack was a "mistake", and "We will never deliberately target a protected medical facility." Campbell said the air strikes were a US decision, made in the US chain of command. In a 15-6 report produced by the US Central Command after the strike, military investigators cited General Campbell's lack of direction and failure alone in providing appropriate tactical guidance as a contributing factor to the Coalition's orders and the damage control that led to the strike. The cockpit record shows that the AC-130 crew questioned the legality of the strike.
On October 7, 2015, President Barack Obama issued an apology and announced the United States would make a payment of condolences to the families of the dead in the air strikes. Three investigations into the incident were committed by NATO, a joint United States-Afghanistan group, and the US Department of Defense. The Department of Defense released its findings on April 29, 2016. MSF has called for an independent and international investigation, saying that the armed forces carrying out air strikes can not conduct impartial investigations of their own actions.
Video Kunduz hospital airstrike
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On September 28, 2015, Taliban militants captured the town of Kunduz, pushing government troops out of the city. After reinforcements arrived, the Afghan army, backed by US air strikes, began an offensive operation to regain control of the city; after several days of fighting, Afghan forces claim to have recaptured the city. However, the fighting continued, and on October 3, a US-led air strike attacked and severely damaged the Kunduz Trauma Center operated by MÃÆ' Â © decins Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨res (MSF), killing doctors, staff members and patients.
MSF has notified all the conflicting parties about the location of the hospital complex. MSF personnel have contacted US military officials recently on Sept. 29 to reaffirm the exact location of the hospital. Two days before the attack Carter Malkasian, advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent an email to MSF asking if the facility had Taliban militants "hiding inside".
This incident
Ms Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨res reported that between 02:08 and 03:15 local time (UTC 04:30) on the night of October 3, Kunduz hospital organization was struck by "a series of air bombing attacks". The humanitarian organization said the hospital was "hit multiple times" in the attack, and that the building was "partially destroyed". Further said the hospital has been "repeatedly & precisely;" and the attack continued for 30 minutes after MSF staff contacted US and Afghan officials during the strike. An Associated Press reported that US Special Forces were half a mile away from the hospital at the time of the attack, defending the governor of Kunduz province. Likewise, Afghan forces are half a mile away.
Confirmation and response
The US military initially said there had been air strikes in the area to defend US troops on the ground, and that "there may be additional damage to nearby medical facilities". On October 15 NBC Nightly News reported that according to Defense Department sources, a cockpit recording of the AC-130 attacks "revealed that the crew really questioned whether the air strike was legal". The US and NATO commander John F. Campbell later confirmed that a US AC-130 fighter attacked the hospital and that it was a US decision, contrary to previous reports that the attack had been requested by Afghan local troops under Taliban fire. He determined that the decision to use air shots "was made in the US chain of command". Campbell said the attack was a "mistake", and "We will never deliberately target a protected medical facility." White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended US troops, saying the US Defense Department "goes to a longer place and puts a higher premium to avoid civilian casualties" than any other military in the world, and suggests the US can compensate victims and their families. US President Barack Obama apologized to MSF president Joanne Liu over the incident, saying it was a mistake and intended to target Taliban fighters. The US will offer "condolence payments" to the victims' families, and contribute to the rebuilding of hospitals.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi confirmed the air strikes on October 3, saying that "10-15 terrorists are hiding in hospitals" and confirm that hospital workers have been killed. The Afghan Defense Ministry and the police chief's representative in Kunduz also said that Taliban fighters were hiding in the hospital compound at the time of the attack, the latter claiming they used it as a human shield.
MÃÆ'  © decins Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨res says there are no Taliban fighters in the compound. Christopher Stokes, general director of MÃÆ'  © decins Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨¨res, said in a statement on October 4, 2015: "MSF is disgusted by recent statements coming from some Afghan government authorities justifying attacks on hospitals in Kunduz. - this statement implies that Afghan and US forces are working together to decide to demolish a fully functioning hospital - with more than 180 staff and patients in it - because they claim that Taliban members are present.This means recognition of war crimes. "Stokes said, "If there is a major military operation going on there, our staff will take notice, and that does not happen when an attack occurs." On October 5, the organization released a statement saying, "Descriptions of their [US] attacks are constantly changing - from collateral damage, to tragic incidents, to now trying to hand responsibility to the Afghan government... There can be no justification for the horrific attacks this. "
Maps Kunduz hospital airstrike
Legality
Attacks on medical facilities are prohibited under international humanitarian law unless the facility "is used, beyond their humanitarian function, to commit acts that are harmful to the enemy". Even if enemy combatants incorrectly use the facility for cover, proportionality rules usually prohibit such attacks because of high potential for civilian casualties. Human Rights Watch says that the laws of war require attacking power to issue warnings, and wait for appropriate time for response, before attacking a medical unit abused by fighters.
During the air strikes, MSF treats women and children and combatants who are injured from both sides of the conflict. MSF estimates that of 105 patients at the time of the attack, between 3 and 4 patients were wounded by government combatants, while about 20 patients were injured in the Taliban. MSF general director Christopher Stokes said: "Some public reports circulate that the attack on our hospital is justified because we treat the Taliban, the wounded fighters are patients under international law, and must be free from attack and treated without discrimination. ever convicted or assaulted for providing care to a wounded combatant. "
Hospitals in war zones are protected under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Former International Criminal Court prosecutor M. Cherif Bassiouni suggested that the attack could be prosecuted as a war crime under the Convention if the attack was intentional or if it indicates a major negligence, "even if it proves that Kunduz hospital has lost it.the protection due to infiltration by the Taliban , the US military personnel responsible for the attack must prove it is a military need to attack the hospital ", even if Taliban forces do use it as human shields, or claim that the military does not know the location of the hospital, risking prosecution for negligence. Nevertheless, he said it is unlikely the case will ever be tried in an international court, because "the US is unlikely to change their service members to outside agencies for prosecution even after facing the military legal system itself." Erna Paris speculated that concerns over violations of international law might cause delay in issuing the United States own report about the attack. He commented, "Leaving the hanging MSF seriously undermines the established laws of war."
Writing about the attack, human rights lawyer Jonathan Horowitz noted that "Under specified and narrow conditions that are tailored, individuals can be attacked even when their actions fail to carry weapons or fire at enemies, but this alone does not necessarily justify attacking hospitals." the need for an independent investigation, noted that the secrecy of the US and Afghanistan would undermine the investigation.
Victim
Prior to December 12, when new figures were released, the victim's report said 30 people died including 13 MSF staff (three doctors), 10 patients and seven patients burned unidentified and unidentified. MSF reported that six intensive care patients were burned to death in their beds, and other patients died after staff had to leave individuals at the operating table. They reported that the 12 staff killed were all Afghan nationals, and that the three members of their international staff who were present survived. A review of the incident that was released on 7 November by MSF reported that some medical staff were beheaded and lost limbs for shrapnel and others were shot out of the air as they tried to escape from the burning building.
On 12 December, MSF released a new report after "a complete investigation [including] combing hospital debris to find further human remains, interviewing missing relatives and cross-checking with other hospitals." The new figure for the number of deaths is "at least 42 people", including 14 staff members, 24 patients and four patient relatives.
Evacuation and facility outages
The attack made the hospital unusable. All critical patients were referred to other providers, and all MSF staff were evacuated from Kunduz. Prior to the bombing, the MSF hospital was the only active medical facility in the area. It is the only trauma center in northeastern Afghanistan. By 2014, more than 22,000 patients are treated at this emergency trauma center and more than 5,900 operations are performed.
Aftermath
MSF.27s_internal_review "> internal MSF review
MSF does not ask for patient loyalty. However, judging from their patients' clothing and other indications, MSF estimates that of 105 patients at the time of the attack, between 3 and 4 patients were wounded by government combatants, while about 20 patients were injured in the Taliban.
The MSF investigation confirms that "MSF rules in hospitals are implemented and respected, including 'unarmed' policies: MSF has full control of the hospital before and during air strikes, there are no armed combatants within the hospital complex and no fights from or in the immediate vicinity of the center of the trauma before the air strikes. "They affirm that" the wounded warrior is patient and should be free from attack and treated without discrimination, medical staff should not be punished or attacked for providing care to the wounded fighters. "
Call for independent investigation
MÃÆ' Â © decins Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨res called for an independent investigation of air strikes at hospitals, accusing the United States of committing "war crimes" and called the US internal investigation insufficient. The call for an independent inquiry is supported by The Lancet (medical journal), and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. MSF recommends that the International Humanitarian Commission for Inquiry, based in Bern, should do this work.
Afghan Investigation
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani appoints five members of the commission to investigate air strikes as well as the Kunduz Battle in general.
NATO Investigations
NATO said it was continuing its investigation into the bombing and had appointed three US military officials from outside the chain of command to handle the investigation to ensure impartiality.
U.S. investigation, apology, and repairs
Eleven days after the attack, MSF said an American tank entered the hospital: "Those who were not announced and forced into a damaged property destroy potential evidence and cause stress and fear." The tank destroyed the gates of the hospital complex. MSF executives who happened to be in the hospital at the time were told that the tank was carrying a US-NATO-Afghan team that investigated the attack. The soldiers did not know the MSF staff left on site and were in the process of assessing the damage.
On November 25, 2015, General John F. Campbell, the American commander in Afghanistan, spoke about the outcome of the investigation and described the incident as "a direct result of the avoidable human error, aggravated by the process and equipment failure." Campbell said that investigations have shown that the AC-130 gun crew misidentified the clinic as a Taliban-controlled government building. US weapons have identified buildings based on visual descriptions of Afghan forces, and have not consulted their list of bans, including hospital coordinators such as those provided by MSF. Electronic equipment malfunctions in combat prevent it from accessing email and images, while navigation errors mean the targeting tools also misidentify the target building. The plane fired 211 shells into the building in 29 minutes, before the American commander realized the error and ordered the attack to stop. The report found that the MSF facility "does not have an internationally recognized symbol to identify it as a medical facility,". This finding was opposed by Joe Goldstein stating that the facility has MSF symbols on it. According to the report, 12 minutes after the operation, the US military was contacted by MSF, but the broken electronic equipment on the plane blocked the message from reaching the attack.
The final report, released April 29, 2016, reiterated the incident as an accident, saying it did not include war crimes. Sixteen members of the US military were disciplined as a result of the investigation, although no one was prosecuted criminally. Twelve personnel involved in the strike were punished with "suspension and dismissal from orders, warning letters, formal counseling and extensive retraining". The US government says that more than 170 condolence payments have been made, $ 3,000 for injured people and $ 6,000 for death, and $ 5.7 million set aside for hospital reconstruction.
Allegations of biased press coverage
Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept accused CNN and The New York Times of "deliberately covering who carried out the Afghan hospital attack" for the first thirty six hours after the air strikes, alleging that their reporting "was designed to obscure those who did this cruelty. "
See also
- Air strikes at a hospital in Yemen
- The United States leads air raids in the village of Bir Mahali between April 30 and May 1, 2015, killing at least 64 civilians
References
External links
- 'Search for a Hospital as a Goal': Historical records show that the US bombing of Afghan hospitals is not an accident. Greg Grandin for The Nation . October 5, 2015.
- MÃÆ'Â © decins Sans FrontiÃÆ'¨res (Doctors Without Borders) "Internal Examination, Assault at Kunduz Trauma Center" (November 5, 2015).
- US Press Release and press release "(April 28 - May 3, 2016)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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