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Yemen: Doctors Without Borders Pull Staff After Saudi Hits Hospitals

HeadlineAug 19, 2016

In Yemen, Doctors Without Borders says it will withdraw staff from six hospitals in the north of the country after an airstrike by the U.S.-backed Saudi coalition hit one of the hospitals, killing 19. The attack on Monday was the fourth and deadliest on the group’s facilities in Yemen. Doctors Without Borders has said it provided the Saudis coordinates of their hospitals in order to avoid accidental strikes and that they are not satisfied with Saudi claims that the strikes are accidental. The group said local staff will continue to operate the hospitals. This is Doctors Without Borders legal director Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier.

Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier: “But it is devastating for the civilians, for the medical personnel and for our ability to maintain a medical capacity in countries that are affected by the war. And if civilians cannot be treated, they have no other choice than to flee. And no one wants to receive refugees, but still hospitals are bombed when they are full of maternal and child care. It’s a real nightmare.”

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