Pentagon to make 'condolence payments' to Kunduz victims

MSF said it had officially not received any details of the compensation and added that it would not accept any funds to repair the hospital.

Washington // The Pentagon has announced it would make payments in compensation for those killed and injured by US air strikes on a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz.

The US is under fire after the October 3 air strike which killed at least 12 MSF staff and 10 patients. The humanitarian group has demanded an independent international investigation, and says 33 people are still missing.

“The department of defence believes it is important to address the consequences of the tragic incident,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said on Saturday, adding that US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) also has the authority to pay for repairs to the hospital.

“One step the department can take is to make condolence payments to civilian non-combatants injured and the families of civilian non-combatants killed as a result of US military operations.”

Mr Cook said USFOR-A would determine “appropriate payments” through discussions with those affected.

The attack caused MSF to close the trauma centre, seen as a lifeline in a war-battered region with scant medical care.

The strike came just days after the Taliban overran the city, with many residents wounded after pitched street battles.

US president Barack Obama has apologised to MSF, admitting the strike was a mistake.

Three separate probes – by the US military, Nato and Afghan officials – are under way.

But the charity, which has condemned the attack as a war crime, is stressing the need for an international investigation, saying the bombing raid contravened the Geneva Conventions.

In a statement on Sunday, MSF said it had officially not received any details of the compensation.

The charity added that it would not accept any funds to repair the hospital, in line with its longstanding policy of “not accept[ing] funding from any governments for its work in Afghanistan and other conflicts”.

* Agence France-Presse