The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors With Borders (MSF) has announced the closure of some of its humanitarian activities in Ma’rib, following the disappearance of two colleagues there.
In a statement, MSF said that “we consider this an unacceptable act of violence, and we are concerned about the current exposure of the MSF teams in the areas.”
“MSF will stop activity in five mobile clinics out of eight, and withdraw fully its support to the Ma’rib General Hospital. We are aware that such a decision will have a direct impact on the MSF team in Yemen and patients,” the statement read.
The organisation stressed that safety is its top priority, stating that “MSF is aware of the major medical and humanitarian needs of the people in Ma’rib. However, at this point of time, the MSF priority is the safe and the fast return of our colleagues.”
Two foreign medical personnel were kidnapped by militants believed to be from al-Qaeda on the Hadhramaut-Ma’rib road and taken to an unknown location.
