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Kunduz: US admits it targeted MSF hospital “by mistake”

The United States has admitted it launched an airstrike that destroyed a hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz. Washington claims Saturday’s attack was a mistake. 22 people died and many more were injured. #MSF team in Al Zaatari refugee camp stands with all those affected by #Kunduz bombing #independentinvestigation pic.twitter.com/S6KPpTZJJ2— Dr Joanne Liu (@JoanneLiu_MSF) 6 Octobre 2015 The medical charity MSF, which ran the facility, does not believe the claim. It is calling for an independent investigation. A full investigation has been launched of #Kunduz incident. NATO SG jensstoltenberg— Pajhwok Afghan News (@pajhwok) 6 Octobre 2015 That call has been echoed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: “The tragic incident, the loss of life in the hospital, is a very serious matter and therefore it is important that we get all the facts on the table and that is the reason why we need a full and thorough investigation.” The US Commander in Afghanistan General John Campbell told the US Senate Saturday’s attack was launched in error: “The decision to provide aerial fire was a US decision made within the US chain of command. A hospital was mistakenly struck, we would never intentionally target a protected medical facility.” LIVE now C-SPAN3: Military operations in Afghanistan Senate hearing via SASCMajority #SASC http://t.co/0jCBKIm7nY pic.twitter.com/Ksk9L92HLO— CSPAN (cspan) 6 Octobre 2015 MSF and the UN’s human rights chief say the incident could qualify as a war crime if it is proved that the hospital was targeted deliberately. MSF says it had given the map coordinates to the US and Afghan forces. It has withdrawn all its personnel from Kunduz.