MSF Calls for Respect of Civilians in Northern Mali

2013 © Google From left, the towns of Lere, Konna, and Douentza, where armed conflict is hampering the provision of medical aid. BAMAKO, MALI/BRUSSELS/PARIS/NEW YORK, JANUARY 13, 2013—All parties to the conflict in Mali must avoid harming civilians and health structures, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced today. Civilians have been affected by armed conflict over the last few days in Konna and by bombardments in Lere and Douentza, a town in the northeast of Mali's Mopti region. An MSF medical team is supporting medical activities in a hospital in Douentza. “Because of the bombardments and fighting, nobody is moving in the streets of Douentza and patients are not making it through to the hospital,” said Rosa Crestani, MSF emergency response coordinator. “We are worried about the people living close to the combat zones, and we call on all the parties to the conflict to respect the safety of civilians and to leave medical facilities untouched.” On January 10 and 11 MSF received reports of numerous deaths and injuries from armed conflict in Konna, including civilians, according to Dr. Mego Terzian, MSF’s manager for the emergency response in Mali. MSF has brought in two truckloads of supplies and drugs for medical facilities in the Mopti region. Many residents of the Mopti region have fled the fighting, turning some communitie...
Source: MSF News - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news