A newly-released United Nations special report expresses concerns over what it calls “deliberate attacks” against healthcare workers and facilities in Afghanistan during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report said eight of the incidents were carried out by Taliban insurgents, while three incidents were attributed to Afghan security forces. Following the attack on the Kabul maternity hospital, Doctors Without Borders decided last week to end its operations in Kabul. The hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighbourhood, was the Geneva-based group’s only project in the Afghan capital. The UN report emphasised that deliberate acts of violence against healthcare facilities, including hospitals and related personnel, were prohibited under international humanitarian law and constituted war crimes.

Source: Irish Independent June 21, 2020 12:33 UTC