Wednesday, November 25, 2015

MSF hospital strike was 'human error' (US general)

A deadly air strike on a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital was "caused primarily by human error", the US commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday, promising disciplinary action as he detailed a US investigation into the catastrophic attack.

The October 3 air raid on the French charity's hospital during a Taliban offensive in the northern city of Kunduz killed at least 30 people, sparked an avalanche of global condemnation and forced the facility to close.

The "tragic but avoidable accident (was) caused primarily by human error," General John Campbell told reporters at NATO headquarters in Kabul, adding those most closely associated with the incident had been suspended from their duties.

He blamed in part fatigue of US troops who had been battling a Taliban offensive in Kunduz for five days, adding that the mistake was "compounded by process and equipment failures".

The Special Operations AC-130 gunship aircraft hit the hospital instead of a nearby Afghan intelligence compound that was thought to have been commandeered by Taliban fighters during their brief capture of the northern provincial capital, he said.

"The medical facility was misidentified as a target by US personnel who believed they were striking a different building several hundred metres away where there were reports of combatants," Campbell said...

 AFP
ahram.org.eg
25/11/15
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