from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – MILITANTS have continued attacks on healthcare facilities in some countries battered by conflict across the African continent.
Insecurity Insight has documented several such violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan for the month of February.
In DRC, armed men broke into two clinics in the North Kivu province in separate attacks.
Patients’ belongings were looted in an attack in the Tulizeni health centre. A female nurse was injured during an attack at a centre in Musimba town.
In South Sudan’s Mir Mir locality, an aid worker was killed in crossfire. A safe space for women and girls was looted and a health and nutrition facility forced to temporarily shut.
In an unspecified location in the Unity state, a humanitarian vehicle came under fire enroute to a health facility, injuring three health workers.
In Agok town, a nurse was killed inside his home amid an outbreak of inter-communal violence which left around 70 000 people displaced.
In El Fasher city, security services at a specialised hospital for women and obstetrics beat and threatened staff with weapons.
On a positive note, humanitarian agencies have airlifted 10 tonnes of medical supplies to the troubled Ethiopian region of Tigray for the first time since July 2021.
“Nonetheless, severe fuel shortages continue to hamper distribution to health facilities across the region,” a spokesperson for Insecurity Insight stated.
DRC, Ethiopia and South Sudan have been hotspots of instability for years.
– CAJ News