Around 400 people were killed and about 250 injured after a Pakistani airstrike struck a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, according to Afghan officials.
Deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Hamdullah Fitrat said the Pakistani military carried out the strike on Monday evening targeting the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility dedicated to treating drug addiction.
Fitrat said large sections of the hospital were destroyed in the attack, raising fears of a high casualty toll. “The death toll has so far reached 400, with about 250 others reported injured,” he said, adding that rescue teams were working at the site to control fires and recover bodies from the rubble.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack, accusing Pakistan of violating Afghanistan’s airspace and targeting a medical facility. “We strongly condemn this crime and consider such an act to be against all accepted principles and a crime against humanity,” he said.
In a statement, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said an airstrike carried out by Pakistani military forces struck the hospital in Kabul at around 9 p.m. on March 16. The mission expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
UNAMA added that under international law, all parties to a conflict must respect and protect the sick and wounded, as well as medical personnel, hospitals and ambulances, noting that attacks on hospitals and civilian facilities are strictly prohibited.
The International Human Rights Foundation also strongly condemned the reported bombardment of the rehabilitation hospital, saying it was deeply disturbed by reports that many of the victims were unarmed civilians undergoing treatment.
The organisation called for an independent international investigation into the incident, accountability for those responsible, and immediate measures to ensure the protection of medical and rehabilitation facilities. It said attacks on medical institutions violate the most basic principles of international humanitarian law and human rights norms.
“The world must not remain silent when places of healing are turned into sites of tragedy,” the organisation said.