Afghan hospital attack: MSF condemns Kunduz air strikes

 
• From the sectionAsia

Media captionDr Bart Janssens, MSF: Hospital "extremely badly damaged"

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres has condemned "in the strongest possible terms" deadly air strikes on its hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz.

MSF said at least nine of its staff and seven patients, three of them children, were killed in the attack.

It said the strikes had continued for more than 30 minutes after US and Nato officials were told of its location.

US forces were carrying out air strikes at the time.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says the Nato force in his country had apologised for the bombing of the hospital.

The Nato alliance has admitted its forces may have hit the hospital.

At least 37 people were seriously injured, 19 of them MSF staff - five of whom are critically ill.

MSF says that all parties to the conflict, including Kabul and Washington, had been told the precise GPS co-ordinates of the hospital in Kunduz on many occasions, including on 29 September.

After staff at the hospital became aware of the aerial bombardment in the early hours of Saturday morning, US and Afghan military officials were again informed, MSF said.

Reuters news agency quotes an MSF official as saying that frantic staff phoned military officials at Nato in Kabul and Washington as bombs landed on the hospital for nearly an hour.

The official said the first bomb had landed at 02:10, and MSF staff called Nato in Kabul at 02:19 and military officials in Washington a few minutes later, but the bombing continued until 03:13.

Image copyrightMSF

Image captionMSF released this photo of its hospital in Kunduz on fire after the bombings

Image copyrightMSF

Image captionThese MSF staff appear to be in shock following the attack (MSF photo)

Image copyrightMSF

Image captionMSF says surgery took place in the undamaged parts of the hospital following the attack

A spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, Col Brian Tribus, said: "US forces conducted an air strike in Kunduz city at 02:15 (local time)... against individuals threatening the force.

"The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility."

The incident is being investigated, he added.