American bombing in Afghanistan: Hospital was targeted precisely, people burned in their beds

Members of Doctors Without Borders who survived the American bombing of the hospital in Kunduz say they cannot accept the explanation of collateral damage, reports the Patria news agency.

They stated that the destruction of the medical facility is nothing less than a major violation of international humanitarian law.

The bombing of the hospital in the Afghan city, where there had been major clashes between local security forces and Taliban groups in the previous days, lasted more than an hour, even though NATO command headquarters in Kabul and Washington had been informed. 

“The main hospital building was constantly and very precisely targeted,” states the statement from Doctors Without Borders. 

Medical technician Lajos Zoltan Jec, who was inside the hospital during the attack, said those moments were absolutely terrifying. 

“At first, we were in confusion and in a lot of dust. While we were trying to understand what was happening, new bombs were falling around us. One of my colleagues was seriously wounded, his arm was bloody, he had wounds all over his body. At that moment, my brain could not understand what was happening, I was in shock. When the bombing stopped, we went to the other hospital buildings. I cannot describe what was happening, patients were burning in their beds,” Jec stated. 

According to Heman Nagaratnam, head of the Doctors Without Borders program in northern Afghanistan, inside the hospital they could hear planes circling above them. 

“There was a short pause, but then new bombs started falling... That repeated several times. Those who could ran to the bunkers to hide... Unfortunately, some patients could not get up. They died in their beds,” Nagaratnam emphasized. 

The humanitarian organization announced that 19 people were killed in the attack by the American air force, including 12 doctors, and 37 people were wounded. During the attack, there were 105 patients and 80 members of Doctors Without Borders in the hospital, reports B92.