Military personnel to be punished for Afghan hospital strike: report
Military personnel involved in the accidental airstrike of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan last October will be punished, according to a Friday report.
{mosads}The bombing in Kunduz killed 42 people and came as Afghan troops battled insurgents for control of the city. The military conducted an investigation into the incident and determined that human error was at fault.
“I can tell you that those individuals most closely associated with the incident have been suspended from their duties and were referred for administrative action,” Col. Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told The Guardian.
Another official told the paper that more than 10 military personnel will face administrative action — which could range from “negative counseling” to a letter of reprimand, or even removal of command.
President Obama has apologized for the strike, and the military has promised to pay reparations to the families of those killed, though Doctors Without Borders has repeatedly called for an independent investigation by the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission.
Such a probe would require the consent of both the U.S. and Afghanistan, and neither has given it.
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