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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Armed robberies force aid agency out of Chad |
| 2008-10-04 |
| (SomaliNet) The aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF - Medecins Sans Frontieres) has shut down two offices in eastern Chad and evacuated its staff after armed robberies, the charity said on Thursday. The aid agency said that all activities in Ade and Goz Beida had been suspended indefinitely, leaving 70 000 people without access to health services. "The fact that MSF is being attacked on a regular basis threatens our and other aid agencies' capacity to provide assistance to populations in eastern Chad," Karline, head of mission for MSF in Chad said in a statement. "Ultimately, it is the sick and vulnerable that suffer the most," Kleijer added. MSF said the weekend incidents, along with armed robberies on two other organisations and the hijacking of a United Nations vehicle, marked a peak in attacks on humanitarian agencies over the last six months. The Chad government is fighting a sporadic rebellion in the east, which borders Sudan's restive Darfur province. Rebels earlier in the year reached the Chad capital of N'Djamena before being repelled. |
| Posted by:Fred |