US: Afghan MSF hospital air strike was not a war crime

The US military has said that a deadly air strike on a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Afghanistan last year was a mistake and therefore not a war crime.


Technical and human error led to the attack, General Joseph Votel said on Friday as he presented the results of an internal investigation into the October 3 incident in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz.

At least 42 people, including 24 patients, 14 staff and four caretakers, were killed and 37 others wounded in the airstrike, which destroyed the MSF hospital building and prompted widespread condemnation from human rights groups.

"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."
'Unintentional act'

The hospital was mistaken for another building controlled by the Taliban, Votel told reporters at the Pentagon.

The hospital was on a list of buildings not to target, but the aircraft crew did not have access to the list due to problems with a radio system, he added.

"The investigation determined that all members of both the ground force and the AC-130 air crew were unaware that the aircraft was firing on a medical facility throughout the engagement," Votel said.

"The investigation ultimately concluded that this tragic incident was caused by a combination of human errors, compounded by process and equipment failures."

"The label war crimes is typically reserved for intentional acts - intentional targeting civilians or intentionally targeting protected objects or locations.".......http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/afghan-msf-hospital-air-strike-war-crime-160429182003792.html
29/4/16
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