Violence forces MSF to leave hospital

On July 31, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was forced to withdraw from Al-Salam Hospital in Khamer, Amran governorate, northern Yemen, after violent attacks against its personnel and facilities.

MSF withdrew after staff received death threats related to a tribal dispute. This was not an isolated incident. In the last five months there have been 18 violent incidents in Amran, including threats and physical assaults against MSF staff, ambushing and hijacking of ambulances and other vehicles, and shootings at or around the hospital.

Yemen © Malak Shaher/MSF. A one-month-old infant in the nursery in Al-Salam Hospital, northern Yemen.
MSF is calling upon all actors in Yemen to respect medical facilities and personnel, so that the provision of medical care is not affected. International and tribal laws should be respected, allowing hospitals to be safe havens, rather than using them to claim resources or power.

“It is very difficult to provide essential medical care in this environment of continuous violence,” said Thierry Durand, MSF head of mission in Yemen. “People are resorting to force, threats and blackmail. MSF and hospital facilities are being used as a means of pressure and leverage in individual and family disputes, without concern for the impact on patients and their right to care.”

Following negotiations with local leaders, MSF will resume its medical and surgical services to the population of Khamer and Amran governorate. “We call upon Yemeni authori...

Source: MSF News - August 6, 2013 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Yemen NEWS Frontpage Violence Source Type: news