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Supreme Council of SSC-Khatumo: MSF withdraws services from Las Anod town due to Somaliland attacks
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    Tuesday July 25, 2023

    Las Anod (HOL) - The Supreme Council of SSC-Khatumo said that the Somaliland attacks in Las Anod town have compelled Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to withdraw all its services from Las Anod General Hospital in the Sool region.

    Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced on Monday that it has decided to stop its medical support and work in Las Anod town due to increased volatility and repeated security incidents that have impacted the safe delivery of medical care.

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    In a statement issued on Tuesday, SSC-Khatumo praised MSF's medical support to the hospital, which has been treating people wounded in the ongoing seven-month fighting in Las Anod town.

    The statement read, "We condemn in the strongest language the massacre and the bombing by Somaliland in Las Anod town, which caused the displacement of the people of the town, and especially the MSF workers, which led the Agency to stop its operations in the area, which worsens the situation."

    MSF said repeated attacks on medical facilities and the level of extreme violence had reached a point where it is no longer able to provide medical care.

    The SSC-Khatumo has called on international law and human rights organizations to document what they describe as war crimes committed by Somaliland in Las Anod.

    "We regret we are forced to stop our medical support, knowing that this will have an impact on people's access to vital medical care – which the ongoing conflict has already compromised," said Dana Krause, MSF country representative. "But we need to be able to work in an environment where the minimum standards of safety are ensured for patients and healthcare workers."

    MSF has been working at Las Anod General Hospital since May 2019, supplying the hospital with medical and technical expertise.

    A week ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the latest attack on a health facility in the disputed city of Las Anod in Somalia's Somaliland region, where dozens of people, including healthcare workers and patients, were killed and injured.

    The WHO said the fighting in Las Anod also destroyed two ambulances.
    In response to the WHO's statement, the Somaliland government strongly asserted its commitment to safeguarding human lives and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and healthcare facilities.

    In June, the Security Council expressed concern about the ongoing violence in Las Anod, in the Sool region of northern Somalia, which has resulted in a large number of civilian casualties and displaced more than 150,000 people. The council members called for the immediate withdrawal of "Somaliland" security forces from Las Anod town.

     





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