KABUL, Afghanistan: The new commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan apologized on Tuesday to the victims of the United States’ bombing of a hospital in the northern city of Kunduz last year that killed 42 people.
The commander, Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr., accompanied by his wife, Norine, and the Afghan ministers of defense and the interior, traveled to Kunduz to meet with local officials and the families of victims of the attack on the Doctors Without Borders hospital on Oct. 3. His apology, which went beyond what his predecessor who oversaw the attack had said, came days after a dozen military personnel were disciplined by the Pentagon.
“As commander, I wanted to come to Kunduz personally and stand before the families and the people of Kunduz to deeply apologize for the events which destroyed the hospital and caused the deaths of staff, patients and family members,” said General Nicholson, who took charge of the forces in Afghanistan this month. “I grieve with you for your loss and suffering, and humbly and respectfully ask for your forgiveness.”
Local officials in Kunduz said they had accepted the general’s apology, but it was unlikely to change the position of Doctors Without Borders, which has demanded an independent inquiry led by the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission.
After the Taliban briefly overran the city last fall, American AC-130 gunships, operating on a request from Afghan forces, repeatedly bombed the hospital. Afghan officials continue to claim that insurgents were taking shelter in the compound and firing on their forces, which Doctors Without Borders has denied.
The United States Defense Department recently disciplined at least a dozen people for their role in the attack, including soldiers on the ground, personnel at the operations center overseeing the strike, and airmen. The Pentagon is also expected to release its inquiry into the attack in coming weeks.
Reuters
