Afghanistan: "They came to kill the mothers"
In the days following the attack to Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in Kabul, it has become clear that what happened in Kabul on 12 May was a deliberate assault on a maternity hospital with the purpose of killing mothers in cold blood. MSF Head of Pogrammes in Afghanistan Frederic Bonnot was there on the scene and shares his harrowing story.
“I went back the day after the attack and what I saw in the maternity demonstrates it was a systematic shooting of the mothers. They went through the rooms in the maternity, shooting women in their beds. It was methodical. Walls sprayed with bullets, blood on the floors in the rooms, vehicles burnt out and windows shot through.
The attackers, whose overall number is as yet unknown, stormed the hospital through the main gate little after 10:00 in the morning. There were other buildings and wards closer to the entrance, but according to MSF staff present at the moment of the attack, the assailants moved straight to the maternity ward supported by MSF. What ensued was four hours of hell – that is how long the attack lasted, while patients and staff alike looked for shelter. During the attack, from the safe room we heard shooting everywhere and explosions too. It’s shocking. We know this area has suffered attacks in the past, but no one could believe they would attack a maternity. They came to kill the mothers.
102 MSF national staff colleagues were working alongside a handful of international staff. In the chaos of the attack, accounting for the patients and the staff present in the hospital became extremely difficult, as people were running for their safety and many others were hastily referred to other hospitals. This country is sadly used to seeing horrific events, but what happened Tuesday is beyond words.”