For the second time in less than a month, a hospital run by medical aid group Doctors without Boards (also known as Médecins sans frontiers, or MSF) has been hit by a missile strike.
Fortunately, no one was reported to be gravely injured in this latest attack, which took place on October 27, in northern Yemen. However, the hospital and its equipment were totally destroyed.
At least 200,000 people in the region no longer have access to essential health services. At least 30 people, including 13 MSF staff were killed when an MSF hospital was hit in Kunduz in Afghanistan on October 3. [1]
Yet another violation of international humanitarian law, this latest strike against a health center reveals a total disregard for civilian lives. A May report called “Attacks on Health: Global Report” by Human Rights Watch and the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition found that in the previous 12 months, armed groups had attacked hospitals, clinics, and health personnel in 41 incidents, killing more than 45 health workers.
Handicap International is demanding an investigation into these attacks and is once again calling on all parties to the conflicts in Yemen and Afghanistan to immediately refrain from launching air strikes against civilians.
We express our full support for the Doctors without Boarders teams