Jumat, 29 April 2016

Pentagon Disciplines 16 For Deadly Afghan Raid





The Pentagon says 16 US military personnel have been disciplined over a botched gunship attack that left dozens dead at an Afghan hospital.

But the US military said last year's raid on the Doctors Without Borders site, which killed 42 people, was not a war crime because it was unintentional.

US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel said they crews had thought they were attacking a Taliban base, not a hospital.

The personnel responsible for the 3 October 2015 attack would receive administrative punishments, said the Defence Department.

But there will be no criminal charges and no one is facing a court martial.

A two-star general, other officers and special ops troops are among the 16 being disciplined.

The hospital in the northern city of Kunduz was attacked by an AC-130 gunship, which is armed with side-firing cannons and guns.

Gen Votel told a news conference: "The label 'war crimes' is typically reserved for intentional acts - intentional targeting (of) civilians or intentionally targeting protected objects or locations.

"Again, the investigation found that the incident resulted from a combination of unintentional human errors, process errors and equipment failures, and that none of the personnel knew they were striking a hospital."

Gen Votel said the hospital was on a US military no-strike list, but the gunship crew had no access to that information.

The mission was launched on short notice, which meant the crews did not have the data loaded to their onboard systems, he added.

He expressed "deepest condolences" to the victims.

Survivors and families of the victims said on Friday they were angry no US military personnel would face criminal charges.

Zabihullah Neyazi, a nurse who was maimed in the attack, told the Associated Press the incident was "not forgivable".

Doctors Without Borders previously called the attack "relentless and brutal".

The US Air Force special operation was unleashed as Afghan forces fought to retake Kunduz from the Taliban.

Afghan officials claimed the hospital had been occupied by the Taliban, though no evidence has emerged to support that claim.

President Barack Obama apologised for what was one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in the 15-year war.

The US command in Kabul has offered compensation to more than 140 families and individuals.

The payouts include $3,000 to those injured in the attack and $6,000 to relatives of those killed.

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