The FINANCIAL — A Swedish Committee accused American troops of storming through a hospital in central Afghanistan, searching men’s and women’s wards for wounded Taliban fighters, breaking down doors, and tying up hospital staffers and visitors.
According to BBC, Nato has confirmed that security forces did enter a hospital to search for militants but said the commander asked for permission to enter the hospital. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) rejects Nato's version of events.
In a statement issued on September 6, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan said soldiers had entered its hospital in Wardak, south of Kabul, on Wednesday evening without explanation.
“They searched all rooms, even bathrooms, male and female wards. Rooms that were locked were forcefully entered and the doors of the malnutrition ward and the ultrasound ward were broken by force to gain entry. Upon entering the hospital they tied up four employees and two family members of patients at the hospital. SCA staffs as well as patients (even those in beds) were forced out of rooms/wards throughout the search,” SCA said in a statement.
The soldiers also demanded that administrators at the hospital inform military authorities of any incoming patients who might be insurgents. After that, the military would decide if the patients would be admitted, as The New York Times reported.
“This is simply not acceptable. It is not only a clear violation of globally recognized humanitarian principles about the sanctity of health facilities and staff in areas of conflict but also a clear breach of the civil-military agreement between NGOs and ISAF. We demand guarantees from the IMF command that such violations will not be repeated and that this is made clear to commanders in the field. SCA can not and will not tolerate this kind of treatment by the IMF. Nor is the SCA bound by any orders from IMF regarding to whom treatment can be given” says Anders Fange, Country Director, SCA.
When they left two hours later, the unit ordered hospital staff to inform coalition forces if any wounded militants were admitted, and the military would decide if they could be treated, Fange said, AP reported. The staff refused, he said. "That would put our staff at risk and make the hospital a target."
The hospital is located in Shaniz, in Wardak Province, in east-central Afghanistan. Fange said the soldiers arrived about 10 p.m. on Wednesday and searched the facility for two hours, he said the soldiers were from the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, The Associated Press reported Monday, and a public affairs officer for the U.S. Navy, Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, confirmed that the hospital had been searched.
“We are investigating, and we take allegations like this seriously,” she told The A.P. “Complaints like this are rare.”
The SCA has been operating in Afghanistan since the 1980s, working in 16 provinces mostly in the east in education, health and disability, Brisbane Times reported. News of the incident comes after a NATO air strike in the northern province of Kunduz early on Friday that officials have said killed or injured 90 people.
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