Aid group urges independent probe into Kunduz incident

WASHINGTON: Doctors Without Borders on Monday called for a full investigation into the Kunduz air strike that killed 22 people at an Afghan hospital run by the aid group, citing discrepancies in US and Afghan accounts of the incident.
The United States bears responsibility for the targets it hits, Christopher Stokes, general director for the group, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said in a statement.
“Their description of the attack keeps changing – from collateral damage, to a tragic incident, to now attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government,” Stokes said.
“With such constant discrepancies in the US and Afghan accounts of what happened, the need for a full transparent independent investigation is ever more critical,” he said after comments from the Pentagon earlier on Monday.
Meanwhile, the US commander of international forces in Afghanistan said on Monday that Afghan forces called for US air support while fighting the Taliban in Kunduz shortly before a hospital was struck, killing 22 people. Campbell, who said the military will ensure transparency in investigating the incident, did not specify if the air strike had struck the Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital.
“We have now learned that on Oct. 3 Afghan forces advised that they were taking fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from US forces,” US General John Campbell said in a briefing with reporters. “An air strike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat and several civilians were accidentally struck.”
Campbell’s comments differed from the initial reports that indicated that US forces were threatened and that the air strike was called on their behalf.