UN documents human rights situation in Kunduz province

A report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which was released on Saturday, documented the abuses in Kunduz committed by Taliban during the offensive, which took place in the city and the districts surrounding it between September 28 and October 13.

The UNAMA pointed out that the “vast majority” of the casualties were due to fighting on the ground and could not be attributed exclusively to one party to the conflict.

The number of people killed in a USA airstrike that destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in the northern city of Kunduz was much higher than previously thought, the medical organization announced Saturday.

Share with Us – We’d love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article, and smart, constructive criticism. “The deterioration of security, the breakdown of the rule of law and the absence of governance enabled an environment in which civilians were subjected to arbitrary killings, assault, other forms of violence, including gender-based violence, threats and widespread criminality”.

Among those killed were 14 MSF staff members, 24 patients, and four caretakers, the group said in a statement.

The figures did not include the additional toll from MSF.

The document confirmed earlier reports that the Taliban had targeted women’s rights activists, government workers and journalists in the city, and cited claims they executed civilians and used child soldiers during the offensive.

A handout provided by Medecins Sans Frontieres shows fire in a hospital in Kunduz after the bombings in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 3.

MSF said the figure was revised after a detailed investigation, complicated by the extensive damage to the clinic.

United States forces conducted an airstrike in Kunduz city at 2:15am (local), Oct 3, against insurgents who were directly firing upon U.S. service members advising and assisting Afghan Security Forces in the city of Kunduz.

In addition, more human remains have been discovered in the hospital rubble, the charity said.

The US military’s investigation into the attack, released on 25 November, concluded that the crew of the AC-130 gunship mistook the clinic for a nearby government building that had been seized by Taliban fighters.

This week MSF delivered a petition signed by 547,000 people to the White House calling for an independent investigation into the USA airstrike, which wiped out the only hospital in the Kunduz region.

“It is shocking that an attack can be carried out when US forces have neither eyes on a target nor access to a no-strike list, and have malfunctioning communications systems”, the charity said.

MSF has criticised United States forces for “gross negligence” over the hospital strike, which also triggered calls for an independent investigation from Human Rights Watch.