Central African Republic: Violence Forces Aid Group to Curtail Work

Doctors Without Borders, the international medical charity known for its resilience in some of the world’s most inhospitable crisis zones, said Thursday that it had drastically curtailed operations at an airport encampment in the Central African Republic, where violence has imperiled about 100,000 displaced people taking refuge. The group said in a statement that its clinic at the airport in Bangui, the capital, which had been treating more than 100 wounded people a day, would now treat “only the most severe cases” with an emergency crew. It was an unusual but not unprecedented retreat for the group, which has remained active in the country throughout a growing political and sectarian crisis, and will continue to work in two hospitals and two other camps in Bangui. Last August the organization completely withdrew from Somalia after having worked there for 22 years, attributing the decision to repeated attacks on its staff.