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Attacks on Muhajariya: MSF national staff continue to treat 100 patients every day The town of Muhajariya in Darfur, Sudan, was attacked by armed groups on Oct. 8 and 9, forcing the evacuation of medical aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). More than 35,000 people living in Muhajariya and its immediate vicinity have been directly affected by these attacks and are in urgent need of medical assistance. Sudanese MSF staff remaining in Muhajariya have set up a mobile clinic for the thousands of people who have moved to the northern outskirts of the town to escape the violence. They also re-opened the local hospital on Oct. 12. Medical care is being provided to an average of 100 people a day. This includes the treatment of 23 gunshot wounds. Teams are setting up water and sanitation facilities to limit the risks of fecal contamination and epidemic outbreaks where people have congregated. A water bladder has been installed and 15 emergency latrines have been constructed. This latest round of attacks affected around 30,000 people. At least 40 have been wounded and more than 20 are reported dead. MSF was extremely saddened to hear from family members that two of our Sudanese staff were among those killed. The whereabouts of some other MSF staff members remains unknown. Despite persistent rumours of renewed hostilities, no further major security incidents have been reported in Muhajariya. MSF is preparing to send additional medical supplies and staff to Muhajariya as soon as the security situation permits. MSF hopes to be able to return the full team to the area as soon as possible to resume all our urgently needed medical activities. Since the onset of the fighting in 2004, a series of raids around Muhajariya have pushed people to flee to the bush repeatedly. In late 2006, almost half the population of Muhajariya fled violence and intimidation, seeking refuge in the bush or making their way to Seleah and Yassin. Villages were burned, civilians killed, and water points, livestock and food resources destroyed or looted. After a recent period of relative calm, new attacks were launched in August 2007, mainly targeting civilians trying to work in their fields and forcing them to abandon the lands they had just planted. Children, women and men continue to bear the brunt of violence in Darfur.
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