10 04 14 – MSF Urges Military Personnel Conducting Operations in the Beni Region to Take Every Precaution to Protect Hostages' Lives
Paris/Goma,
8 April 2014 – As the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC)
continue the third phase of their military operations in the Béni region, with
the support of MONUSCO, the international medical organisation Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) has expressed its concern about the fate of four of its
Congolese staff, abducted nine months ago during an attack on the city of
Kamango.
Congolese
authorities have expressed their commitment to shielding the population from
armed groups, who have been accused of deadly attacks and implicated in the
abduction and disappearance of hundreds of North Kivu
civilians.
During
one of these attacks, which occurred on 11 July 2013 in Kamango, a city located
80 km to the northeast of Béni, a number of people were killed and others were
abducted, while tens of thousands of residents fled to Uganda. Those taken
hostage included four members of MSF who were assessing people's medical needs
in Kamango.
Nine
months after the incident, the fate of the MSF team remains unknown. "Despite
all our efforts and the fact that we have received a large amount of
information, the search for our colleagues has run up against our inability to
contact them, either directly or indirectly," says MSF president Dr Mego
Terzian. "It is the same for the many Congolese who have had friends, relatives
or colleagues abducted."
With
military operations underway in the region, MSF is making every effort to locate
its staff members. "Considering the length and intensity of fighting, we are
particularly worried about the fate of the hostages, especially since none of
them has been freed," says Dr Terzian.
Acknowledging
that the population of the Béni region has already paid a heavy price for the
violence, MSF is alarmed at the effects of the ongoing fighting on all those
being held hostage by the armed groups. During the current joint military
operations, MSF urges military personnel to take every precaution to ensure that
the safety of the hostages is made a top priority.