More than 400 people were reportedly killed after a Pakistani airstrike hit a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul on Monday evening, prompting concern from the United Nations, the European Union and international aid organisations.
The strike hit the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, a facility treating people with substance use disorders, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Pakistan, however, rejected claims it struck a hospital, saying it had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure.”
UNAMA said the strike struck a medical facility treating drug-dependent patients, adding that “civilians continue to pay the price for the ongoing conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan”.
It expressed condolences to the victims’ families and stressed that “under international law, all parties to a conflict must respect and protect the sick and wounded, medical personnel, hospitals and ambulances”.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for accountability, saying the incident “must be investigated promptly, independently and transparently,” and that “victims and their families are entitled to reparations.”
A spokesperson added that “the laws of war clearly set out that any attack must comply with the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.”
Aid organisations echoed these concerns. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said: “Hundreds of people were killed… This is unacceptable. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must never be a target.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned the strike forms part of a wider pattern, with at least six health facilities affected since late February. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “Peace is the best medicine”, urging both sides to de-escalate.
European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib described the attack as “a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law”, adding: “Health facilities must be protected, not targeted.”
The strike comes amid escalating hostilities. UNAMA said at least 76 civilians have been killed and 213 injured since late February, while displacement has affected tens of thousands across border regions.
International actors, including the European Union and the United Kingdom, are now calling for an immediate ceasefire and a return to dialogue.
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Tensions between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have surged after the Taliban government accused Islamabad of carrying out an attack that killed more than 400 people, an allegation Pakistan denies. Here is how the two sides compare in military strength, from troop numbers to nuclear capability.
More than 400 people were killed and around 250 injured in an air strike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul late on Monday, Afghan officials said, while Pakistan rejected the claim, calling it “false and misleading.”
A survivor of the air strike on a Kabul drug rehabilitation centre described scenes of devastation, saying patients were engulfed in flames moments after explosions tore through the facility late Monday (16 March).
China’s special envoy for Afghanistan has begun visits to Kabul and Islamabad to mediate between the two countries, as cross-border clashes continue following Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan in February.
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Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea on Friday (13 March), according to Poland’s Operational Command.
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A top security official in Donald Trump’s administration has resigned, saying Iran posed no imminent threat to the United States, as tensions escalate with Tehran vowing a “decisive” response to the killing of security chief Ali Larijani in overnight Israeli strikes.
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As the U.S.–Israel war with Iran enters its third week, disruption is spreading well beyond the battlefield. Analysts say the conflict is already constraining fertiliser supplies, driving up prices and increasing the risk of food shortages, particularly in developing economies.
When a NATO-led coalition helped to overthrow Muhammar Gaddafi’s dictatorship in Libya in 2011, it looked like the sun had risen on a new era. But within years, the nation was gripped by a second civil war, declining living standards and collapsing institutions. Could Iran follow suit?
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