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Burundi :: Helping Victims of REnewed fighting Since the beginning of this week Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi, and its surroundings have been the scene of renewed fighting between government troops and rebels. The southern periphery is particularly affected by the violence and thousands of civilians have fled the area. Many of them found shelter with relatives but many more had no place to go. Some have now sought shelter in two camps where Médecins Sans Frontières is providing assistance.
07/07: This morning at 5 o'clock bombs exploded in two areas in the periphery of Bujumbura. There was some fighting in the streets. The team will be staying in the house today. 08/07: After eight weeks of calm, there were again mortar attacks in south-Bujumbura and some street fights in the suburbs. The team tried to collect wounded in the area during the daytime - did not succeed - and tried again later in the evening. The riots are expected to last a couple of days and then to calm down again. Change of malaria protocol: The authorities decided to opt for molecules (amodiaquine and artesunate), provided separately for the first six months of the new protocol, but it's a difficult situation. As Unicef and WHO opted for amodiaquine produced by Aventis, only amodiaquine from this supplier will be accepted. There are however several problems: the limited stock of Aventis might cause delays, and apart from that the price is much higher - an adult combination treatment will cost 2.65 Euro (instead of 1.5 Euro), mainly due to the higher cost of the amodiaquine component, and since these are not priority molecules for Aventis, this price will not be adapted. The Access campaign reacted by sending a letter towards Unicef and WHO to show our surprise that they chose this supplier, but did not negotiate a better price. 09/07: Attacks in Bujumbura are still continuing in the area of Kanyosha. Between 2,000 and 10,000 displaced have gathered in the centre of the city. Médecins Sans Frontières put up a small emergency dispensary in the centre for displaced. Quite a lot of wounded (28) arrived the day before yesterday in the Centre de Blessés. Twenty of them were transferred to the city hospitals. This morning militaries came to the Centre to check for a woman. After negotiations, they were allowed in without weapon, but the woman had to stay if she needed care... For the first time since fighting started three days ago, three mortars fell on Bujumbura city itself this morning. For the time being movements are restricted. If it lasts, we are studying possible reduction of the team. 10/07: Yesterday morning police and military entered in the Centre de Blessés (CBL). The CBL was surrounded by armed men (50 to 100). Apparently it had come to their ears that rebels were present in the CBL. A persecution mandate arrived some time later, stating collaboration with rebels (conflicts with Médecins Sans Frontières mandate). War law foresees that all people have right to be cared for, including rebels, but that we cannot hide them from justice. As long as they are not cured, they cannot be taken by the authorities, but we cannot prevent the police from questioning them. The interrogations took place in tranquility. Véronique (Head of Mission) was asked to come to the police station this morning. During this time, no transfers towards the CBL were made. The displaced populations are concentrated in two center for displaced: one site close to the center and one between Kinindo and Musaga. Due to the lack of aid coming from Unicef and WFP and non food NGOs, we decided to distribute BP5, blankets and goblets today. 11/07: Due to the mortar attacks on the city center, access to the Médecins Sans Frontières office remains difficult. The team is mainly working from the logistical base. There a good dynamic in the team, a good mobilisation of people. The team organised an extensive distribution for the IDPs, with material from different NGO's (WFP rations, BP5, blankets, soap, etc). The families were classified by area and by chief of household. In the IDP centre in the centre of town about 2,000 people have gathered and the team installed a dispensary; the 3,000 people in the centre between Kinindo and Musaga are more difficult to reach. It is the aim to install a medical unit there too, but it's not easy. The IDPs are mainly women and children. There are more and more rumors about who has been using the mortars, whether it was the FNL or the FDD. It could be a bigger offensive than was initially thought. Nicolette Jackson UPDATE - 11 July 2003 “On Wednesday, we put up a small emergency dispensary for the displaced people in this camp,” explains Véronique Parqué, Médecins Sans Frontières head of mission in Burundi. “The same evening we saw 200 patients. The health post consists of five tents in which we offer medical care. The main health problems of the displaced are diarrhoea, respiratory infections, head aches.” “It is difficult to give an exact number of casualties thus far but it seems to be rather high,” continues Véronique Parqué. “Due to the huge insecurity in the city, it is even impossible to take the corpses off the streets. Luckily it’s the dry season, because this decreases the risk of certain epidemics, such as cholera.”
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