Pentagon says US to make payments to families of Kunduz air strike victims
Date October 11, 2015 - 2:31PM
Sandra Maler
A demonstrator from Code Pink raises his hands as General John Campbell, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, right, speaks during a Senate hearing in Washington last week. Photo: Bloomberg
Washington: The US Department of Defence will seek to make "condolence payments" to families of victims of a US air strike that the government says mistakenly hit a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing 22 people.
"The Department of Defence believes it is important to address the consequences of the tragic incident at the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan," spokesman Peter Cook said, adding that the United States would also pay to repair the charity hospital.
MSF doctor Ehsanullah Osmani, 35, was killed in the US air strike. Photo: Supplied
"US Forces-Afghanistan has the authority to make condolence payments and payments toward repair of the hospital. USFOR-A will work with those affected to determine appropriate payments. If necessary and appropriate, the administration will seek additional authority from the Congress," he said.
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday apologised to MSF for the bombing of its hospital.
The medical charity is pressing for an international commission to investigate what it calls a war crime. Among those killed were 12 MSF staff.
On Tuesday, Defence Secretary Ash Carter said the US military deeply regretted the loss of life and was acknowledging its mistake and working to understand what went wrong.
"The US military takes the greatest care in our operations to prevent the loss of innocent life, and when we make mistakes, we own up to them. That's exactly what we're doing right now," Mr Carter said.
Reuters
