A US-led NATO military coalition bombed a hospital run by
international humanitarian aid organization Doctors Without Borders
(known internationally as Medecins Sans Frontières, MSF) in Afghanistan,
killing at least 22 people—12 staff members and 10 patients, including
three children—and wounding 37 more.
AFP, the first network to report the story, in the early hours of October 3,
quoted NATO saying, “US forces conducted an air strike in Kunduz city….
The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical
facility.”
MSF promptly issued a statement (10/3/15),
revealing that it had been “hit several times during sustained bombing
and was very badly damaged.” In an update hours later, MSF said it
“condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific bombing of its
hospital in Kunduz, which was full of staff and patients.”
The humanitarian organization also indicated multiple times—and in
bold capital letters—that “all parties to the conflict, including in
Kabul and Washington, were clearly informed of the precise location (GPS
Coordinates) of the MSF facilities in Kunduz, including the hospital,
guesthouse, office and an outreach stabilization unit.” MSF says the US
“repeatedly and precisely” hit the hospital.
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
The New York Times completely rewrote and changed the title of its report on the bombing seven times. (Image: FAIR)
