Public release of initial MSF internal review
5 November 2015
Hospitals have protected status under the rules of war. And yet in the early hours of 3 October, the MSF hospital in
Kunduz came under relentless and brutal aerial attack by US forces.
Patients burned in their beds, medical staff were decapitated and lost limbs, and others were shot by the circling AC-
130 gunship while fleeing the burning building. At least 30 MSF staff and patients were killed.
This week, MSF concluded an initial review of the facts before, during and in the aftermath of the airstrikes. Although
our internal review is an ongoing process, we have decided to share these initial outcomes with the public, to counter
speculation and to be transparent. Details that could identify individuals have been removed. Explanatory footnotes
have been added in places where an external reader may need additional clarification.
This is the view from inside the hospital. What we lack is the view from outside the hospital – what happened within the
military chains of command.