Airstrike On Kunduz Hospital ‘Not A War Crime’ Says Pentagon
KABUL: (MEP) The Pentagon has announced that a deadly air strike on a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in northern Kunduz province last year in which at least 42 people had been killed was a mistake, not a war crime.
Meinie Nicolai, the president of the group also known as MSF or Doctors Without Borders, told the Guardian: “We still have questions on negligence and the list of errors that we’ve heard” outlined in a declassified report into the 3 October airstrike is one of the most infamous episodes in the US’s longest-ever war.
The “tragic strike” was due to human and technical errors, US officials said.
“The personnel involved did not know that they were striking a medical facility,” the investigation report concluded.
“The intended target was an insurgent-controlled site which was approximately 400 metres away from the MSF Trauma Center.”
US Central Commander, General Joseph Votel said the error was “unintentional”, it did not constitute a war crime, adding that “an accusation MSF has previously levelled at the US.”
Therefore, no-one will face criminal charges.
Interviews with Kunduz residents and relatives of the victims indicate a belief that the US purposefully targeted the hospital. Some rejected the commander’s apology as insincere and urged harsh punishment for the perpetrators.
At least 42 people were killed and nearly 40 others wounded in the airstrike on Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz on 3rd October.
