Surgical Strike

Surgical Strike Why did US forces attack an MSF hospital in Afghanistan, killing 42 people? Following the deadly strike, MSF have been pushing for an independent investigation and the condemnation of the attack as a war crime.
In the early hours of October 3rd 2015, a US gunship fired 211 shells, without interruption, at the MSF Kunduz Trauma Centre. The tragic outcome of the mission was the death of 42 people. Nurse Kathleen Thomas recalls how it "was just all a big blur of horrendous grief". General Surgeon Dr Esmar gives a tour of the ruin of the hospital. Pointing into the Intensive Care Unit he explains how when they returned "there was nothing. There was just bones on the bed".

An internal Pentagon investigation described a series of catastrophic errors that saw the KTC mistaken for the Taliban-held National Directorate of Security HQ. But MSF are not satisfied with the heavily redacted report. MSF President Joanne Liu has repeatedly called for an independent investigation, arguing, "we strongly believe you cannot be the perpetrators as well as the judge and the jury". The attack on KTC was just one of 75 that took place in 2015 against MSF-supported facilities. The local effect of the attack is that Kunduz remains without any functioning medical facilities and patients have to travel hundreds of miles for treatment.
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