Afghan and US forces have found themselves under intense criticism after the bombing of a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in the city of Kunduz, during an attempted recapture of the city.
Kunduz, an ethnically mixed city in the north of the country and close to the border with Tajikistan, has previously been under threat from Taliban forces that have long held sway in provincial areas around the city. Following a planned offensive on 28 September, the Taliban captured most of the city.
After being embarrassed by the fact that even now, fourteen years after they were ousted from power by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban are able to capture the country’s fifth biggest city, the Afghan government, along with US forces, are currently attempting to recapture Kunduz.
In the most controversial action taken, at least 22 people were killed when US bombs hit a Médecins Sans Frontières facility, apparently on the orders of the Afghan government who were convinced that Taliban fighters were inside the hospital. Many critics have called this action a potential war crime.
Investigations have been launched by both NATO and the US armed forces. But neither the Afghan government nor the US will be able to find a military solution to the problem of peace in Afghanistan.
