Possible U.S. airstrike hits Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan; at least 19 dead

Tragedy in Kunduz, Afghanistan .....Doctors Without Borders is one of the great volunteer organizations. How this could happen in 2015 with all the advanced electronics is shocking.
Friendly-Fire incidents are the worst thing to come out of any conflict. Older article states 21% of deaths in Afghanistan are attributable to friendly fire.




www.washingtonpost.com... 8ee3a876_story.html?postshare=3041443883212589

"Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter issued a statement saying: “While we are still trying to determine exactly what happened, I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected. A full investigation into the tragic incident is underway in coordination with the Afghan government.”

Doctors Without Borders said its facility came under attack beginning at 2:08 a.m. It was hit by a series of aerial bombardments, lasting until 3:15 a.m. The main central hospital building, housing the intensive care unit, emergency rooms, and physiotherapy ward, was repeatedly hit very precisely during each aerial raid, the group says, while surrounding buildings were left mostly untouched."

mmj.vcu.edu...

Tragic, and possibly, avoidable.

To add...

UN slams 'inexcusable' Afghan hospital air strike that kills 19

(yahoo.com)-Kabul (AFP) - A suspected US air strike on a hospital killed 19 people Saturday in the Afghan city of Kunduz, medical charity MSF said, a bombardment that the UN condemned as "inexcusable, and possibly even criminal".

UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called for a full and transparent probe, noting that, "if established as deliberate in a court of law, an air strike on a hospital may amount to a war crime."

news.yahoo.com...

a reply to: Caver78

Another thread is already open. However no one seems to care that the US have commited a crime against humanity. People also don't care that there is an effort by the msm to suppress this story.

This is a war crime and has been admitted by the head of the US led army.

If this was Russia we would be entering ww3 right now.

I'm beyond furious at the lack of outrage at this.

a reply to: liteonit6969

Looked & didn't see it, the Mods can close this one then.....apologies!

a reply to: Caver78

I think you should keep it open. The last one is dead. No one is discussing this.

Am I blowing this out of proportion or is this as shocking as I think it is?

a reply to: Black_Fox

Thanks for the additional links & news! Indeed it's criminal and avoidable ....DWB are one of the very few groups who WILL go into an area and provide services, there aren't enough Doctors to begin with, this is just horrific.

Here is Médecins Sans Frontières own twitter feed, I'm still looking for their official statement on this....

twitter.com...

...and YES this is just as shocking as you think it is!! Also under reported, and I can't imagine how horrified the pilots are over this "mistake". They will carry it with them for the rest of their lives as well.

a reply to: Caver78

It's hard to make a reasonable comment when all the news reports are so politicised and biased.

The MSF guys are like terrestrial angels imo. What these people do is go beyond what most people ever even think of doing. They place themselves in the midst of the worst environments on the planet and do it all to help others. They see things that would traumatise most of us and it doesn't do them any good either. Many suffer a form of PTSD from their service to humanity.

Saying that, I highly doubt the US would deliberately, wilfully bomb them. Some news sources imply they did and there's not enough evidence to back that up. Western propaganda says US weapons technology can be 'on a dime' accurate when it isn't the case. Incidents like this demonstrate the difference between propaganda and reality. Some in the media want to portray the US as killing MSF doctors and that's just propaganda from a different angle for different purposes.

originally posted by: liteonit6969
a reply to: Caver78

I think you should keep it open. The last one is dead. No one is discussing this.

Am I blowing this out of proportion or is this as shocking as I think it is?

I don't think is outa proportion, I don't think this is being treated as important, but it should be.

The MSM can do whatever it likes here, and people might not be paying attention, again, here.

But the rest of the world is watching.

Found Médecins Sans Frontières statement.....straight from the horses mouth.

www.doctorswithoutborders.org...




www.doctorswithoutborders.org...


October 03, 2015
Kabul/Brussels. 3 October 2015: The international medical organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific aerial bombing of its hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan. Twelve staff members and at least seven patients, including three children, were killed; 37 people were injured including 19 staff members. This attack constitutes a grave violation of International Humanitarian Law.

All indications currently point to the bombing being carried out by international Coalition forces. MSF demands a full and transparent account from the Coalition regarding its aerial bombing activities over Kunduz on Saturday morning. MSF also calls for an independent investigation of the attack to ensure maximum transparency and accountability.

“This attack is abhorrent and a grave violation of International Humanitarian Law,” said Meinie Nicolai, MSF President. “We demand total transparency from Coalition forces. We cannot accept that this horrific loss of life will simply be dismissed as ‘collateral damage’.”

a reply to: Kandinsky

Agreed, I'm not running to CNN ect....but more concerned with what MSF itself is reporting. The hidden horror of this will be the actual pilots who had no idea coordinates they were given were incorrect. They will be the ultimate scapegoats.

The MSF staff goes where no other humanitarian organization will & works under impossible conditions.
It's easy to be outraged, however I saw links on their page for donations?
Something to consider....

a reply to: Caver78

I'm looking through all media outlets to gain an idea of what is being reported and there are so many with details missing...such as bbc with headlines not even mentioning the US.

Sky news suprisingly gives a lot of info and quotes that paint a picture that this was intentional and done regardless of consequences.

Please read the full report on the link below because I'm dumbfounded.

sky report showing what was known

Im certain this has been said, somewhere, by many, but im going to parrot it anyways.

IF this had been a Russian plane, we would have gotten all types of info by now.
probably right down to what kinda boxers the pilot was wearing.

And ya ya ya I know, Russia evil.......

But is evil judged by actions or perception?

Meh... I dream of a world where US military is only within its own borders.

a reply to: Black_Fox

Sad as this is ,it may also be a point of reference to those watching to remind people who are not keeping score to show people in the west how the MSM can go into spin propaganda mode when judging what Russia is trying to do in Syria . Bombs have a way of causing collateral damage but this is a direct mistake . Someone should be charged and it is probably not the guy's that were given the target to hit . They did their job but the higher ups need to be taken to the wood shed over this one .

a reply to: liteonit6969

Thanks for that....it's a 'given" that MSN's will muck this up endlessly....between multiple political spins slapped on everything to just outright misinformation.

Black_Fox....does it really matter WHO bombed a hospital??? It's unconscionable and regardless it needs to be investigated with serious outcomes for those involved.

Here is just one blog of many by the MSF staff on the ground ....this one from July, I'd ask people to read this as compared to how YOU spent your summer? Quite a difference!!
blogs.msf.org...

originally posted by: Kemal
Meh... I dream of a world where US military is only within its own borders.

my dream is every country's military stay within its borders... but dreams are always dream in politics.

We have downplayed far worst atrocities on foreign lands; It will be routine for the white house. they may even have an internal department for these instances.

a reply to: Caver78

"Black_Fox....does it really matter WHO bombed a hospital??? It's unconscionable and regardless it needs to be investigated with serious outcomes for those involved. "

In the aspect of the human lives lost? No.

In regards to the impact of this action and the ramifications globally, Yes.

a reply to: Kemal

ROFL....love it when the US gets ALL the blame ALL the time! There is plenty of Shaming to go around, from Russia all the way to Canada.

www.counterpunch.org...

Well this post 'fell" in a inopportune slot....not defending the US actions, just saying plenty of other countries have their military complex's fingers in the pie as well. Globally it's just more tit-for-tat while regular people are forced to suffer the consequences. Without this thread turning going full bore political, I'd rather focus on MSF and what this means to their future missions in Afghanistan?

a reply to: odzeandennz

I think it is said somewhere that they will pound their spears into pruning hooks and that is what I would like to see . Can you imagine how much better off humanity could be if the moneys set aside to make war were allocated to educate and prosper communities . We could all retire at age 16 and live happy ever after .