US military violates laws of war by airstriking Doctors Without Borders hospital

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Despite being informed of its exact location on numerous occasions over the past several months, the U.S. military launched airstrikes against a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in Kunduz, Afghanistan, bombing it for at least an hour, killing 22 patients and medical staff including three children, according to The Intercept, which is providing updates on the U.S. government’s latest massacre in Southeast Asia.

The U.S. and their Afghan allies were informed of the hospital’s exact GPS location as recently as September 29, casting doubt on the attacker’s narrative that the airstrikes were a mistake; however, the U.S. changed its tune and is now claiming the airstrikes were justified, alleging the hospital was surrounded with armed Taliban – giving them no choice but to bomb hundreds of patients and medical workers in order to squash a few terrorists.

Doctors Without Borders counters that allegation.

To be clear; not a single member of our staff reported any fighting inside #Kunduz hospital compound prior to US airstrikes Saturday morning

— MSF International (@MSF) October 4, 2015

The hospital was repeatedly & precisely hit during each aerial raid, while the rest of the compound was left mostly untouched #Kunduz

— MSF International (@MSF) October 4, 2015

While the U.S. routinely destroys hospitals with airstrikes, killing innocent men, women and children, normally those who protest such attacks are “foreign, non-western victims who live in the cities and villages where the bombs fall,” reports The Intercept.

Doctors Without Borders disproves U.S government’s narrative regarding airstrike

“Those are easily ignored, or dismissed as either ignorant or dishonest. Those voices barely find their way into U.S. news stories, and when they do, they are stream-rolled by the official and/or anonymous claims of the U.S. military, which are typically treated by U.S. media outlets as unassailable authority.”

The U.S. is unable to deceive the public about this latest attack as western-based medical workers with Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) are countering U.S. claims, providing credible evidence that disproves the government’s explanation for the strike.

Medical workers brave enough to travel into war zones to treat the wounded from all sides of the conflict “are not so easily ignored,” says The Intercept.

“They’re difficult to marginalize and demonize. They give compelling, articulate interviews in English to U.S. media outlets. They are heard, and listened to.”

Even more sickening, is that the airstrikes continued for nearly an hour despite frantic calls made by medical workers to Washington and Kabul, begging the U.S. government to seize fire as women and children trapped inside the hospital were heard screaming for help while the building was “set ablaze by the bombing.”

Bombing continued for >30 minutes after American & Afghan military officials in Kabul & Washington first informed of proximity to hospital.

— MSF International (@MSF) October 3, 2015

The Doctors Without Borders hospital was the only one in the region and was responsible for treating anyone wounded in the conflict, including Taliban fighters. The Intercept reports this is likely why the hospital was targeted, “chosen either by Afghan military officials who fed the coordinates to their U.S. military allies and/or by the U.S. military itself.”

The Intercept reports that “there is long-standing tension between the Afghan military and this specific MSF hospital, grounded in the fact that the MSF – true to its name – treats all wounded human beings without first determining on which side they fight.”

Washington ignores calls for help, as women and children are trapped inside burning hospital

Just three months prior, Afghan special forces raided the exact same hospital searching for an Al Qaeda member they believed was a patient.

“This incident demonstrates a serious lack of respect for the medical mission, which is safeguarded under international humanitarian law,” said MSF in a statement.

If the airstrikes were deliberate, they too are a direct violation of international humanitarian law, which is the legal framework that protects medical workers treating those wounded in war.

"Until proven otherwise, #Kunduz attack amounts to an inexcusable violation of International Humanitarian Law" @JoanneLiu_MSF

— MSF International (@MSF) October 6, 2015

Since early Monday morning, our medical teams in Kunduz, #Afghanistan have treated 252 wounded, including 53 children pic.twitter.com/hjmhYMSdpS

— MSF Canada (@MSF_canada) September 30, 2015

Infuriated by the strike, Doctors Without Borders are not backing down and are calling for independent investigation into the attack.

Attack does not just touch #MSF but affects all humanitarian work, undermines core principles of humanitarian action http://t.co/bmHPLJg7Lz

— MSF International (@MSF) October 6, 2015

#MSF Ireland stands in solidarity with our Afghan colleagues – we demand an #IndependentInvestigation #Kunduz pic.twitter.com/ij9Q6sFFTJ

— MSF Ireland (@MSF_ireland) October 6, 2015

"Until proven otherwise, #Kunduz attack amounts to an inexcusable violation of International Humanitarian Law" @JoanneLiu_MSF

— MSF International (@MSF) October 6, 2015

You can follow the @MSF International Twitter feed for more updates on this breaking story.

Additional sources:

TheIntercept.com

TheIntercept.com

AlJazeera.com