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A top U.S. military commander says American forces are responsible for "mistakenly" hitting a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in an aerial bombardment Saturday that killed 22 people.
Army General John Campbell told a congressional committee in Washington that Afghan forces requested the airstrike on the hospital operated by the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders because Taliban insurgents1 were firing from the facility.
But he said the U.S. conducted the half-hour-long raid after reviewing the request.
US Accepts Blame for Afghan Hospital Attack
"To be clear, the decision to provide aerial fire was a U.S. decision made within the U.S. chain of command," Campbell said. "A hospital was mistakenly struck. We would never intentionally2 target a protected medical facility."
Campbell, who heads the NATO-led coalition3 in Afghanistan, declined to discuss further specifics about the airstrike as U.S. and Afghan investigations4 continue.
At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest called the bombing a "profound tragedy and something the United States takes very seriously."
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym5 MSF, has condemned6 the attack that killed 12 of its staff and 10 patients as a “grave” violation7 of international humanitarian8 law.
MSF President Joanne Liu said Tuesday that the incident "cannot be brushed aside as a mere9 mistake or an inevitable10 consequence of war."
She said the collaboration11 of the Afghan and U.S. forces implies they "decided12 to raze13 to the ground a fully14 functioning hospital, which amounts to an admission of a war crime.” MSF has called for an independent probe of the attack.
Taliban, Afghanistan forces clash
Meanwhile, fresh fighting broke out Tuesday in Kunduz, belying15 days of government claims its forces have evicted16 and recaptured the beleaguered17 city from the Taliban.
Afghan security forces and insurgents clashed in the provincial18 capital’s central square.
?Authorities warned that food and other aid cannot get through to the city in northern Afghanistan. The United Nations says all international aid groups had left Kunduz.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, says its fighters staged an assault on Afghan forces in the early morning and fighting was continuing in several parts of the city.
Insurgents had briefly19 overrun Kunduz a week ago in a surprise offensive, but Afghan forces wrested20 back the control three days later and since claimed to have flushed out Taliban militants21.
But hostilities22 have since raged in parts of Kunduz. Insurgents have also captured several districts in two nearby northern provinces, and Afghan forces are battling to regain23 control of the lost territory.
MSF and the United Nations human rights chief have said the hospital attack could amount to a war crime.
The U.N. said Monday that it would wait for the outcomes of ongoing24 investigations before deciding whether to support an independent probe.
Residents and aid workers say that recent heavy fighting in Kunduz has caused massive destruction to the infrastructure25 and conditions in the city are not fit for living.
Afghan officials say the hostilities have prompted thousands of families to flee for safer cities.
Meanwhile, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the overnight attack in Kabul on a building it claimed belonged to the Afghan intelligence agency. Authorities in the capital announced Tuesday that security forces had killed all three suicide bombers26 to end a 10-hour siege.
They said seven police officers were also injured during the operation, but gave no further details.
点击收听单词发音
1 insurgents | |
n.起义,暴动,造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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2 intentionally | |
ad.故意地,有意地 | |
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3 coalition | |
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合 | |
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4 investigations | |
(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究 | |
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5 acronym | |
n.首字母简略词,简称 | |
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6 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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7 violation | |
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯 | |
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8 humanitarian | |
n.人道主义者,博爱者,基督凡人论者 | |
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9 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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10 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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11 collaboration | |
n.合作,协作;勾结 | |
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12 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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13 raze | |
vt.铲平,把(城市、房屋等)夷为平地,拆毁 | |
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14 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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15 belying | |
v.掩饰,与…不符,使…失望;掩饰( belie的现在分词 );证明(或显示)…为虚假;辜负;就…扯谎 | |
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16 evicted | |
v.(依法从房屋里或土地上)驱逐,赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 beleaguered | |
adj.受到围困[围攻]的;包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词);困扰;骚扰 | |
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18 provincial | |
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人 | |
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19 briefly | |
adv.简单地,简短地 | |
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20 wrested | |
(用力)拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 ); 费力取得; (从…)攫取; ( 从… ) 强行取去… | |
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21 militants | |
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 ) | |
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22 hostilities | |
n.战争;敌意(hostility的复数);敌对状态;战事 | |
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23 regain | |
vt.重新获得,收复,恢复 | |
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24 ongoing | |
adj.进行中的,前进的 | |
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25 infrastructure | |
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施 | |
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26 bombers | |
n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 );投弹手;安非他明胶囊;大麻叶香烟 | |
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