The full investigation report fills over 3,000 pages, but it all boils down to human error, military personnel aiming at the wrong target, the report says. “They executed from air and did not take appropriate measures to verify the facility was a military target”, he said, adding that “fatigue” and “high operational tempo contributed to this tragedy”. Some of the military personnel violated the “rules of engagement”, Shoffner said.
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MSF, however, has said in the past that its coordinates were given to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, and that the strike continued even after MSF informed American and Afghan officials that its facility had been struck.
However, in the same briefing with reporters, Brig.
Human error was the primary cause of the airstrike that killed 30 people last month at a hospital in northern Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Campbell announced Wednesday.
According to the investigation, the strike lasted nearly half an hour, from 2:08 a.m.to 2:37 a.m. The attack was reported to the Bagram air base at 2:20 a.m.by an MSF caller, but USA forces wouldn’t stop firing until minutes later. The airstrike was over by that time, according to Campbell.
He renewed his group’s call for an independent global investigation, something the U.S. has blocked by declining to consent.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, however, said the findings were consistent with a separate NATO-led investigation and that he was “confident” the investigation was carried out in a thorough manner.
Despite the “fatal error”, no nation does more to prevent civilian casualties in military operations than the United States, Campbell asserted. Noting that the aircraft left 69 minutes early and were not fully briefed as to which targets were deemed “off-limits”, Campbell said that those closest to the incident were suspended from their duties.
“These are examples of human and procedural errors”, he said.
“We are absolutely heartbroken over what has occurred here and we will do absolutely everything in our power to make sure that it does not happen again”. Campbell did not address those issues as he asserted that the assault was a mistake.
Those associated with airstrike have been suspended pending administrative and disciplinary investigations said Campbell. He could also decide to take no action. The headquarters “did not realize that the grid coordinates for the target matched a location on the no-strike list”, he said.
Kate Stegeman, MSF’s communications director in Afghanistan reiterated that no armed combatants were in the hospital at any time, with MSF staff providing much needed medical care to victims of war in Kunduz – as Taliban militants captured the city. They thought they were striking the headquarters of the Afghan intelligence service several hundred meters away, which the Taliban had reportedly seized.
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When the call for help came from the Afghan troops, a USA special forces team in another part of Kunduz called in the strike.
