Charity condemns attack on Afghan hospital as “war crime”

An international medical humanitarian charity has condemned an aerial attack on a hospital on 3 October in Afghanistan that left 22 people dead and many others injured.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has now demanded an independent investigation into the attack on the MSF run Kunduz trauma hospital, which it claimed was carried out by US led NATO forces together with Afghan forces. A US military investigation into the incident is now under way in coordination with the Afghan government.

The charity said that the hospital had come under attack in the early hours of Saturday 3 October from a series of aerial bombing raids that hit the central hospital building, which housed the intensive care unit, emergency rooms, and physiotherapy ward.

At the time of the attack there were 105 patients and their carers in the hospital, alongside more than 80 international and national MSF staff.

The hospital has provided free life and limb saving trauma care for the past four years. MSF issued a first person account from one of its nurses, Lajos Zoltan Jecs, who was in the hospital at the time of the attacks, which killed 12 MSF staff and 10 patients. Jecs said, “It was absolutely terrifying. What we saw was the hospital destroyed, burning. Enough staff had survived, so we could help the wounded with treatable wounds. But there were too many [staff and patients] that we couldn’t help.

“These [staff] are people who had been working hard for months, non-stop for the past week. They had not gone home, they had not seen their families, they had just been working in the hospital to help people … and now they are dead.”

Christopher Stokes, MSF’s general director, said, “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.

“Relying only on an internal investigation by a party to the conflict would be wholly insufficient. The hospital was full of MSF staff, patients, and their caretakers. We condemn this attack, which constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law.”

The Afghan defence ministry claimed that “armed terrorists” had been using the hospital as a position to target Afghan forces and civilians. But Stokes said, “These statements imply that Afghan and US forces working together decided to raze to the ground a fully functioning hospital—with more than 180 staff and patients inside—because they claim that members of the Taliban were present. This amounts to an admission of a war crime.”

The US secretary of defence, Ash Carter, praised MSF’s work in the region but said, “The situation there is confused and complicated. The area has been the scene of intense fighting the last few days. US forces in support of Afghan security forces were operating nearby, as were Taliban fighters.

“While we are still trying to determine exactly what happened, I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected. A full investigation into the tragic incident is under way in coordination with the Afghan government.”

The World Health Organization said that it “deplored” the bombings, and a spokesperson added, “Tragedies like this can and should be avoided, by warring parties consistently observing international humanitarian law and taking all necessary precautionary measures.”

The World Medical Association’s president, Xavier Deau, said, “This latest tragedy strengthens our determination to ensure the safety of hospitals, healthcare facilities, patients, and healthcare personnel during armed conflicts.”