美軍表示因失誤空襲阿富汗一無國界醫院造成至少30人喪生
American forces misidentified a target in Kunduz, Afghanistan last month that resulted in a mistaken half-hour aerial attack on a hospital that killed at least 30 people, mostly doctors and patients, according to a U.S. military investigation.
美國軍方調查顯示，美軍部隊上個月在阿富汗昆都士誤認襲擊目標而對一所醫院進行了半小時空襲，導致至少30人喪生，其中大多是醫生和病人。
Army Gen. John Campbell, the commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, said Wednesday that Afghan forces asked for U.S. air support to strike a National Directorate of Security building believed to be occupied by Taliban fighters. According to the report, the AC-130 air crew instead fired 211 shells at a hospital operated by the international charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) that was 450 meters away.
美國和國際部隊在阿富汗的指揮官、陸軍上將坎貝爾星期三說，阿富汗部隊請求美軍空中支援，襲擊據信被塔利班武裝人員佔據的國家安全董事會大樓。結果調查顯示，AC-130機組人員向450米外一所由國際慈善機構醫生無國界運營的醫院發射211顆炮彈。
"This was a tragic mistake," Campbell said in Kabul Wednesday. "This is an example of human and process error. It was directly the result of avoidable human error." Several factors contributed to the mistake, according to Campbell. The air crew launched more than an hour earlier than planned, missing out on a crucial brief that would normally include identifying no-strike areas such as the MSF hospital. Once in flight, the aircraft's electronic systems malfunctioned, eliminating the crew's ability to transmit video, send and receive email, or send and receive electronic messages.
坎貝爾星期三在喀布爾說，“這是一個悲劇性錯誤。”他說，“這是人爲和程序錯誤的一個例子，是由可以避免的人爲錯誤直接造成的。”坎貝爾說，幾個問題導致了這一錯誤。機組人員比計劃提前一個多小時展開行動，沒有參加一次關鍵的簡報會，會上一般會包括確認像無國界醫生組織的醫院這種非襲擊區的信息。在飛機飛行時電子系統出了故障，使得機組無法傳送視頻、收發電郵或者電子信息。
The crew then believed it was the target of a missile, Campbell told reporters, so they moved out of the aircraft's normal strike range, degrading the accuracy of the targeting system. That loss of accuracy appeared to cause the coordinates of the Taliban target to land on an open field. The crew visually located the "closest, largest" building to that field and, thinking that was the target, fired on it.
坎貝爾對記者說，機組人員當時認爲他們是導彈襲擊目標，於是他們飛離飛機正常襲擊範圍，降低了目標系統的準確率。這似乎導致了塔利班的地面目標座標鎖定在一處空地。機組目測找到空地附近“最近、最大”的建築物，認爲那就是目標，於是開火。
Campbell said some military personnel involved in the incident have been suspended from duties pending possible disciplinary action, and that the U.S. intends to assist Doctors Without Borders in rebuilding the hospital.
坎貝爾說，與這次襲擊有關的一些軍事人員已經暫停工作，等候可能的紀律處分。美國計劃幫助醫生無國界重建那所醫院。
