M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res facility in Yemen bombed in Saudi airstrike
Less than a month after a US airstrike in Kunduz, Afghanistan, hit a M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res (MSF) field hospital, the international medical organization has found itself the victim of yet another bombing, this time in Yemen.
The strike occurred late during the night on Monday in the Haydan district of Yemen, on the border with Saudi Arabia. It was carried out by Saudi forces, who bombed the MSF hospital twice in quick succession. The twelve medical staff and patients who were in the hospital when it was hit , although some suffered injuries during the evacuation, according to The New York Times.
鈥淭he air raids with all that was inside 鈥� devices and medical supplies 鈥� and the moderate wounding of several people,鈥� Ali Mughli, director of the MSF hospital in Haydan, told Reuters.
Saudi forces have been engaged in an air war against Houthi rebels in Yemen since March of this year. The Saudis are among those from several Arab countries in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, who have been intervening in Yemen , the capital, from the Houthis.
More than 4,500 people have been killed in Yemen since the conflict began, which prompted the United Nations to and international aid organizations like MSF to respond.
The MSF hospital destroyed in the strike was one of the few still in operation in northern Yemen.
MSF has also attempted to bring medical supplies to the southern Yemeni state of Taiz, but they have been unable to do so, due to stalled negotiations with Houthi leaders, . Out of twenty hospitals in Taiz, only six are still functional.
鈥淭he situation in Taiz is dramatic and will only get worse in the coming weeks and allow them to access basic services, including health facilities,鈥� Karline Kleijer, MSF emergency manager for Yemen, said in a press release. 聽
MSF also continues to feel the impact of the bombing that took place at its Kunduz field hospital. as a result of that attack, including twelve MSF hospital staff, Reuters reports.
The Kunduz facility primarily provided surgical care for trauma聽victims. Without that hospital, MSF reports that there are now only two centers for treating war-related injuries in Kunduz, the Kunduz Regional Hospital and a facility at the airport.
President Obama issued an apology to MSF after Gen. John F. Campbell, the American commander in Afghanistan, that the attack had been 鈥渁 US decision made within the US chain of command.鈥�
But MSF International President Dr. Joanne Liu condemned the bombing of its Kunduz facility as 鈥�,鈥� and has called for an independent international inquiry into that attack by the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission.
