Doctors Without Borders: US Tank Entered Hospital Without Permission

More Damage Done to Already Bombed Hospital

Issuing a new statement on the ongoing US efforts to block an international investigation into the recent US airstrike against the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital near Kunduz, MSF confirmed that a US tank forced its way into the hospital yesterday totally without permission.

MSF closed the hospital after the US airstrike, which killed at least 22 civilians, and warned that the US tank, which officials claim was involved in the “official investigation” into the strike, did more damage to the already bombed hospital, and destroyed potential evidence of the war crime.

The statement went on to say that the investigation team had previously promised to “notify” MSF of any moves that involved the organization’s personnel or assets like the site, but that MSF only learned about the forced entry after the fact.

On Thursday, after several different claims of “mistaken” strikes, the Associated Press reported that the Pentagon knew the site was a hospital well before the bombing, and that the troops on the ground, who reportedly called in the strikes, were deployed there to surveil the hospital itself on suspicion a Pakistan ISI spy was within. MSF says none of their staff were Pakistani, and they had no information any of the patients were either.

The White House said earlier this week that President Obama opposes the MSF calls for an international investigation, saying he believes the internal probe conducted by the Pentagon will be sufficient. Since the Pentagon seems to be driving tanks through the evidence, that’s likely the only probe that will ever be able to happen at the site.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.