Gen. John Campbell, US commander in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the airstrike at Kunduz hospital that killed 22 people, including 12 staff members, was a mistake. But Doctors Without Borders said there can be no justification for such a horrible attack.
"To be clear, the decision to provide aerial flyers was a US decision made within the US chain of command," Campbell said, according to NBC News. "A hospital was mistakenly struck. We would never intentionally target a protected medical facility."
Campbell said at the committee hearing that the Afghan forces, who were then under Taliban fire, had requested air support while supposedly engaged in combat with the Taliban fighters in the city of Kunduz. The US forces were reportedly in contact with the AC-130 gunship that fired on the hospital.
Kunduz has reportedly been the scene of heavy fighting in recent days when the Taliban assaulted the Afghans and reportedly embarrassed President Ashraf Ghani's administration.
Taliban troops, who attacked on multiple fronts, held the city for three days before a government counter-offensive began. Afghan forces have retaken Kunduz, an important city on the Tajikistan border, a hub for drug and gun smuggling to and from Central Asian countries, CBC News reported.
The airstrike on the hospital sparked anger from anti-war protesters including Doctors Without Borders, which described the aerial bombings in the hospital as "unacceptable.''
During the hearing, members of the international humanitarian aid organisation, wore red colouring on their faces, and carried placards that read: "Healthcare not warfare," and "Kunduz victims: RIP."
A woman who shouted "Bombing hospitals is a war crime! Stop the bombing now!" was escorted from the room, according to CBC News.
"There can be no justification for this horrible attack," said Christopher Stokes, general director of Doctors Without Borders, NBC News reported.
"It is critical to conduct a full transparent independent investigation," he stressed.
