On Saturday, a hospital in Kunduz, with some 200 people inside, was hit by an hour-long series of US aerial bombing raids, injuring at least 37 and killing 22 people, including MSF staff and children. The United States initially claimed the attack was accidental, but a number of media outlets and the MSF itself questioned this. According to US Gen. John Campbell, the decision to conduct airstrikes on the hospital was made by US Command and Control.
"There is no justification for bombing a hospital. It is against all international law and should be considered a war crime. It is no excuse that the US thought there were Taliban members in the hospital. MSF treat all injured [people], regardless of political affiliation," Lindsey German said.
MSF has condemned statements from the Afghan government, claiming that Taliban forces had been using the hospital to fire on coalition forces, as they imply that that Afghan and US forces colluded to bomb the hospital on purpose, which amounts to a war crime.
The attack triggered a wave of condemnation from international organizations, foreign states and NGOs, and revitalized the debate over the efficiency of the US military engagement in Afghanistan.
"The war in Afghanistan has raged for 14 years and has never been won. The people of Afghanistan are the victims of this war," German said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the bombing and called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the attack in order to ensure accountability.
On Wednesday, MSF called on Russia to initiate the creation of an independent international committee to investigate the bombing.
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter pledged that the US government would prosecute those behind the accidental bombing.
