The Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans frontières) ceased activities in a hospital in West of Kabul city where an attack left many mothers and newborn babdies dead last month.
"Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has announced our decision to end activities and withdraw from Dasht-e-Barchi in Kabul, Afghanistan, following the brutal attack on our maternity wing on 12 May, in which 16 mothers were systematically shot dead. An MSF midwife, two children aged 7 and 8, and six other people present at the time of the attack were also killed," MSF said in a statement.
The statement further added that "The decision comes with the understanding that while no information has emerged about the perpetrators or motive of the assault, mothers, babies and health staff were the deliberate targets of the attack, and that similar attacks may occur in the future."
"A month after the horrifying event, we know very little; the attack remains unclaimed," the statement said, adding that "Afghan authorities blamed the Taliban - or Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - who refuted and condemned the accusation, while representatives of foreign governments publicly pointed their finger at radical groups as perpetrators, namely Islamic State Khorasan province."
Thierry Allafort-Duverger, MSF Director General said "We were aware that our presence in Dasht-e-Barchi carried risks, but we just couldnt believe that someone would take advantage of the absolute vulnerability of women about to give birth to murder them and their babies. But it did happen."
"Today, we have to accept reality: higher walls and thicker security doors wont prevent such horrific assaults from happening again," Allafort-Duverger said, adding that "To remain would mean to factor in such loss of human lives as a parameter of our activity, and this is unthinkable."
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/18579
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