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Aid Group Opens Clinic at Afghan Site of Deadly US Airstrike


In this undated photograph released by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on October 3, 2015, medical personnel treat injured civilians at the MSF hospital in Kunduz province, Afghanistan. MSF announced Saturday that it hopes to reopen the bombed hospital next year.
In this undated photograph released by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on October 3, 2015, medical personnel treat injured civilians at the MSF hospital in Kunduz province, Afghanistan. MSF announced Saturday that it hopes to reopen the bombed hospital next year.

The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders says it has opened an outpatient clinic in northern Afghanistan.

The new facility in Kunduz province opened almost two years after a U.S. airstrike demolished the group's hospital there, killing more than 40 people, including patients and staff members.

"We decided to restart medical activities in Kunduz because the needs are big...," said Silvia Dallatomasina, head of Doctors Without Borders programs in Afghanistan.

Dallatomasina said the organization plans to open a hospital in Kunduz next year and has been seeking assurances from various sides in the conflict in Afghanistan to guarantee the safety of patients when the facility opens.

The United Nations human rights chief said the 2015 bombing of the Doctors Without Borders hospital could be considered a war crime.

The U.S. military has called the bombing "a mistake," with then president Barack Obama issuing an apology and promising compensation for the victims.

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