3-11 | As the war in Syria enters its fifth year, desperately-needed aid is failing to reach millions of people who are trapped by the conflict, and a massive increase in medical assistance is required, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said Wednesday. “Four years since the start of the Syrian conflict, the war continues to be characterised by acts of brutal violence that do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, nor respect the protected status of health personnel and facilities,” said Dr Joanne Liu, MSF’s International President.
3-11 | By Dr. Joanne Liu As Syria enters its fifth year of conflict , the war continues to be defined by brutal violence that does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and half the population has fled either within Syria or into neighboring countries. Syrian Cities are besieged and cut off from any outside assistance.
3-4 | A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team managed to reach Debaltseve on 21 February, three days after the rebels took the city in Eastern Ukraine. Olivier Antonin, MSF’s emergency coordinator, was part of the team that provided medical aid and evaluated the medical needs there. He describes what he saw in this devastated city. When we arrived in Debaltseve, we quickly saw that it had been hit hard. The bridge leading to the center of town had been damaged and we had to turn back. The town seemed deserted.
2-13 | The industrial city of Gorlovka in eastern Ukraine has been under constant shelling, its hospitals are overwhelmed with the wounded, and medical supplies have run out, leaving doctors to stitch up patients with fishing line. MSF surgeon Dr Michael Roesch is supporting the Ukrainian surgical team in Hospital #2. I arrived in Gorlovka six days ago and went straight to the hospital. The main operating theatres up on the sixth floor are no longer functioning because they’re just too dangerous with all the shelling.
2-12 | Djamilou from Central African Republic (CAR) has been working as a logistician in Niger. Djamilou came to Paris between assignments in Africa for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). He told us her story. He spoke of the violence and the plight of his family scattered among three different countries after fleeing from Central Africa. His testimony illustrates only too well the suffering endured by our Central African teams. I grew up in Bocaranga in north Central Africa. Until not long ago, there were no problems between Christians and Muslims.