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No Excuse for US After Bombing Hospital in Afghanistan

© AP Photo / Médecins Sans FrontièresThe Doctors Without Borders trauma center is seen in flames, after explosions near their hospital in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz
The Doctors Without Borders trauma center is seen in flames, after explosions near their hospital in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz - Sputnik International
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Lindsey German, convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, said that the US bombing of hospital in Kunduz is against all international law and should be considered a war crime.

Afghan (MSF) surgeons work inside a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital after an air strike in the city of Kunduz, Afghanistan in this October 3, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Obama Apologizes to Doctors Without Borders for Hospital Bombing
MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko — There is no excuse for the US army’s bombing of the Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, even if there were Taliban members in the facility, Lindsey German, convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, told Sputnik Wednesday.

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 burned Doctors Without Borders hospital is seen after explosions in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Kunduz Will be Forgotten, Just Like All the Others - Pakistani Ambassador
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday that the US airstrike on the MSF hospital should not be labeled a war crime since the incident is still being investigated.

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.

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