The international human rights watchdog said that the ‘unidentified assailants’ showed blatant disregard for civilian life and is an apparent war crime. “An attack on a maternity clinic is simply unspeakable. This attack is the latest incident of an armed group in Afghanistan targeting patients, healthcare workers, and medical facilities,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at HRW.
Patricia Gossman said that those paying the price when armed groups attack medical facilities were not just the patients and medical staff but all Afghans, including children, who were denied essential care when hospitals cannot function. “In the midst of a pandemic, Afghanistan needs its medical facilities more than ever,” she added.
HRW noted that deliberate attacks on health care in Afghanistan have increased sharply since 2017. “Insurgents, including both affiliates of ISIS and the Taliban, have been responsible for many of these incidents, although the Afghan national security forces have also raided clinics, killing and assaulting medical workers and patients.”
On Tuesday, a suicide bombing attack that followed by firing, killed at least 13 civilians, including 2 infants, and wounded at least 15. More than 80 patients, including young children were evacuated from a hospital in Afghanistan’s capital. To date, no armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the hospital. The Taliban have also denied involvement in the merciless attack.