Medecins Sans Frontieres - Doctors Without Borders Rocked By Sexual Abuse Scandal

DW: Medecins Sans Frontieres fired 19 people for sexual abuse in 2017

The French aid group MSF, also known as Doctors without Borders, fired the 19 staff members after investigating 24 cases. The charity giant's revelation followed reports of sexual abuse by workers with UK charity Oxfam.

Medical aid group Doctors without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), reported on Wednesday it had received 146 complaints or alerts in 2017. Of these, 40 concerned harassment or abuse.

As a result, it acted on 24 cases and fired 19 people, MSF said in a statement. "Two of these were situations of sexual abuse or harassment by MSF staff against non-MSF staff (patients or members of the community)."

"Though reports of abuse through our grievance mechanisms are steadily increasing, MSF believes misbehavior remains underreported today," the charity said.

Read more ....

Update #1: Doctors Without Borders fired 19 people for sexual abuse last year (Business Insider)
Update #2: Doctors Without Borders issue statement on sexual misconduct (Washington Post)

WNU Editor: Medecins Sans Frontieres is the only organization that I have donated money to (not including my church). This is a big disappointment. As for the Oxfam sexual abuse scandal, it is getting worse .... Oxfam scandal highlights spectrum of abuse: local staff, recipients — aid workers, too (CBC).

Médecins Sans Frontières: Hospitals Are Now Normal Targets Of War``

An MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, hit by an airstrike. Photograph: Dan Sermand/MSF

The Guardian: Hospitals are now normal targets of war, says Médecins Sans Frontières

Humanitarian specialist Michiel Hofman says permanent members of UN security council are complicit in killings by supporting countries in conflict.

The targeting of hospitals and humanitarian workers in war is quickly becoming a “new normal”, a top official at Médecins Sans Frontières has said, describing permanent members of the UN security council as complicit in the killing of medics.

Michiel Hofman, a senior humanitarian specialist at the charity, offered a grim analysis, saying instead of rebel groups it was conventional armies that were repeatedly violating the laws of war. He chided the permanent members of the security council, four of whom are engaged in conflicts where medics are targeted, saying such a situation had not occurred since the Korean war in the 1950s.

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WNU Editor: Hospitals have always been targeted during war. I have been covering wars and conflicts for years .... I do not even know where to begin on listing on the "when and where" hospitals and doctors were targeted.

Syrian Airstrikes Hit 'Doctor's Without Borders' Hospital In Aleppo Killing 27 Including The City's Last Pediatrician

Reuters: Air strikes hit Aleppo hospital, at least 27 killed: Observatory

Air strikes hit a hospital in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo and killed at least 27 people, including three children and the city's last pediatrician, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday.

A new wave of aerial bombing on Thursday on rebel-held districts of the city killed at least 30 more civilians, a rescue worker said. The Observatory put the toll at least 20.

In government-held areas, rebel mortar shelling killed at least 14 people, the Britain-based Observatory and Syria's state news agency SANA reported.

Escalating violence in Aleppo is pushing people living there to the brink of a humanita

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More News On Today's Airstrikes On A 'Doctor's Without Borders' Hospital In Aleppo

Syria conflict: MSF says deadly air strike hit Aleppo hospital -- BBC
Deadly airstrikes hit MSF-supported hospital in Syrian city -- AP
Airstrike on MSF-backed Aleppo hospital kills patients and doctors -- The Guardian
Airstrikes in Aleppo Hit Hospital and Prompt Syrian Rebel Attack -- NYT
27 killed in airstrike on Syrian hospital, rights group says -- CNN
Airstrikes Destroy Field Hospital In Aleppo Killing One Of The Last Pediatricians In Syria -- IBTimes
At least 14 Doctors Without Borders staff, patients killed in Aleppo airstrikes -- FOX News
Doctors Without Borders-Supported Syrian Hospital Destroyed by Deadly Airstrikes -- Slate

Doctors Without Borders Releases Its report On War-Wounded-Dead In Syria

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Doctors Without Borders: Report: Documenting War-Wounded and War-Dead in MSF-Supported Medical Facilities in Syria

As the conflict in Syria approaches its sixth year, the humanitarian and medical toll of the violence remains appalling. Millions of people have been internally displaced or have sought refuge abroad. Millions more are trapped in communities that are under siege or hemmed in by the closed borders of neighboring countries. These countries, already overwhelmed by the numbers of Syrians seeking protection, have increasingly introduced restrictions on entry for new arrivals.

Meanwhile, the level of violence inside the country shows no signs of abating. Death and injury are a daily reality. The year 2015 saw an increased number of countries engaging their military and entering the war. Russia intervened in September on the invitation of the Syrian government, with significant use of its air force, while France and the UK extended their air campaigns under the US-led coalition from Iraq to Syria in September and December. This situation is unprecedented, as four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are now actively engaged in hostilities in the Syrian conflict.

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WNU Editor: These numbers are staggering .... and they are only part oft he story.

Pentagon To Punish U.S. Service Members Involved In The Doctors Without Borders Airstrike In Kunduz, Afghanistan

Afghan staff react inside a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital after an air strike in the city of Kunduz, Afghanistan in this October 3, 2015 MSF handout photo. REUTERS/Medecins Sans Frontieres/Handout via Reuters

IBTimes: US Military Prepares To Punish For Doctors Without Borders Airstrike: Report

The U.S. military is preparing to punish U.S. service members involved in an airstrike that occurred in October on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, that left 42 civilians dead, Foreign Policy reported Friday. U.S. Army Gen. John Campbell, who commands U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, forwarded a 3,000-page investigation into the airstrike to U.S. Central Command as well as his recommendations for disciplinary action against troop members involved in the airstrike.

It will take roughly two to three weeks to redact the report for potential public release, according to a Defense Department official, however no decision has been made about whether the report will be made public. While U.S. Army Col. Michael Lawhorn, the U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, would not comment on the details of the report, he said the legal process would possibly result in “different decisions for different individuals.”

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Update: Exclusive: US Military Readies Punishments for Botched Afghan Airstrike (Foreign Policy)

WNU Editor: We will know more details on the form of punishment (and who will be punished) in two to three weeks.

Doctors Without Borders Hospital In Yemen Hit By Missile Strike

© Khaled Abdullah Ali Al Mahdi / Reuters

DW: MSF: Rocket strike on clinic in Yemen kills four

A clinic operated by international medical group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in northern Yemen has been hit by a rocket, with four people killed, the group says. It says it does not know who fired the missile.

The missile hit the clinic in the Razeh district of Saada province in northern Yemen, communications officer Malak Shaher said on Sunday.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also announced the attack on its Twitter account.

WNU Editor: Everything is now a target in Yemen.

More News On An MSF Clinic Being Hit By A Missile In Yemen

'Projectile' hits Medecins Sans Frontieres clinic in Yemen, killing four: MSF -- Reuters
Strike on MSF Yemen clinic kills at least four -- AFP
Yemen crisis: MSF-backed hospital hit by missile -- BBC
Three killed in missile strike on MSF clinic in Yemen - spokeswoman -- RTE
Doctors without Borders hospital hit in Yemen -- CNN
4 killed in missile strike on Medicins Sans Frontieres clinic in Yemen -- RT

Pentagon Releases Report On The Kunduz 'Doctors Without Borders' Hospital Strike

New York Times: U.S. Military Suspends Members Over Kunduz Hospital Strike

KABUL, Afghanistan — The top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John F. Campbell, said Wednesday that several service members had been suspended from duty after an internal military investigation of the American airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz last month.

Calling the airstrike a “tragic mistake,” General Campbell read a statement announcing the findings of the investigation, which he said concluded that “avoidable human error” was to blame, compounded by technical, mechanical and procedural failures. He said that another contributing factor was that the Special Forces unit had been fighting continuously for days in Kunduz and were fatigued.

The strike, which involved repeated attack passes by a Special Operations AC-130 gunship early on Oct. 3, gutted the main hospital building and killed 30 people, mostly patients and Doctors Without Borders staff members. The aid group said the attack went on for more than an hour despite repeated calls by staff members to the military, and despite the hospital’s coordinates having been repeatedly sent to the American command.

More News On The Pentagon Releasing Its Report On The Kunduz 'Doctors Without Borders' Hospital Strike

U.S. soldiers who bombed Afghan hospital suspended and face disciplinary action-- AP
U.S. suspends military personnel over attack in Kunduz -- Washington Post
U.S. troops suspended in Kunduz hospital attack, top general says -- Military Times
Officials: Hospital in Kunduz mistaken for Taliban site -- CNN
Strike on MSF hospital in Kunduz due to ‘human error’, US says -- France 24
'Human Error' Cited in Mistaken US Airstrike on Kunduz Hospital -- ABC News
Kunduz bombing: US attacked MSF clinic 'in error' -- BBC
US general: MSF hospital strike in Kunduz caused by 'human error' -- DW
Kunduz Report Update: Doctors Without Borders Hospital Bombed By US Forces Because Of Bad Intel From Afghan Troops -- IBTimes
Kunduz hospital attack: US military took 17 minutes to act on MSF warnings -- The Guardian
Military Releases 3,000-Page Explanation of Why Kunduz Hospital Was Bombed -- NYMag

Afghan Médecins Sans Frontières Afghan Hospital Was Treating 65 Wounded Taliban Fighters When it Was Bombed By U.S. Forces

The Hill: Bombed Afghan hospital had 65 Taliban patients

About 65 Taliban fighters were being treated at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, hospital in Afghanistan bombed by the United States, according to an internal review released Thursday by the charitable group.

Taliban members accounted for about half of the hospital's 130 patients on the Wednesday before the deadly bombing, which killed at least 30 people. Two Taliban members appeared to have had higher rank, the report said.

The report also revealed that the next day, the hospital received an inquiry from a "US Government official in Washington, D.C." asking if the hospital or any other of the organization's locations had a large number of Taliban "holed up" and asked about the safety of the staff.

WNU Editor: Médecins Sans Frontières is admitting that they were treating scores of wounded Afghan Taliban fighters during the bombing, but they are stressing the point that these patients were unarmed .... Probe Finds No Armed Men in Afghan Clinic Bombed by US (New York Times/AP). 65 Taliban fighters ?!?!?!?! But no Afghan military/police personnel being treated .... even though many were also killed and wounded during the battle for Kunduz. And no weapons !?!?!?! When it comes to wars and conflicts I learned a long time ago to always be sceptical .... and yes .... this Doctors Without Borders report is raising more questions than answers.

Update: A new report is also revealing two other installations in Kunduz were hit by U.S. forces during the same time that the Médecins Sans Frontières hospital was being bombed .... U.S. airstrikes in Kunduz destroyed more than a hospital (Washington Post).

Médecins Sans Frontières Releases Report On Kunduz Hospital Bombing By U.S. Forces

The Guardian: New report reveals MSF staff's fruitless calls for help as hospital came under fire

Internal report offers details of medical staff’s frantic efforts to alert Kabul and Washington, only to receive a text 30 minutes later: ‘I’m sorry to hear that’

As an American gunship unleashed burst after burst of cannon fire on Doctors Without Borders’ (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, medical staff inside the building frantically tried to alert military headquarters in Kabul and Washington DC.

When they finally received a reply, a massacre had already happened.

At 2.52am – at least 45 minutes into the attack and 30 minutes after MSF’s first call – a text message arrived from Nato’s Afghanistan mission: “I’m sorry to hear that, I still do not know what happened.”

WNU Editor: The 'Doctor's Without Borders report is here .... MSF Releases Internal Review of Kunduz Hospital Attack (Doctor's Without Borders).

More News On Médecins Sans Frontières Releasing Their Report On The Kunduz Hospital Bombing By U.S. Forces

MSF says hard to believe U.S. strike on Afghan hospital a mistake -- Reuters
Report reveals grisly details of deadly U.S. airstrike on hospital -- CBS/AP
MSF Report: Afghan Hospital Attack Had No Military Purpose -- VOA
‘I’m praying for you all.’ Doctors Without Borders releases messages with U.S. military on night of bombing -- Washington Post
Afghan hospital attack: U.S. strike was precise, Doctors Without Borders says -- CNN
US Airstrikes Hit Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Afghanistan as 'People Tried to Flee,' New Review Finds -- ABC News
Doctors Without Borders Describes ‘Relentless and Brutal’ U.S. Attack in Afghanistan -- Time
Kunduz bombing: US planes 'fired on MSF hospital staff' -- BBC
U.S. Plane Shot Victims Fleeing Doctors Without Borders Hospital: Charity -- NBC

Pentagon Silence On Afghan Doctors Without Borders Hospital Attack

Nancy A. Youssef & Shane Harris, Daily Beast: Pentagon MIA on Afghan Doctors Without Borders Hospital Attack

So much for revealing details of its October airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders clinic—the U.S. military was silent as a deadline passed Tuesday amid calls for an independent probe.
When the U.S. military fired on a hospital in Afghanistan last month, the Pentagon promised to reveal details about the disastrous airstrike within 30 days.

That promise has not been kept. And according to Doctors Without Borders, the U.S. military has stonewalled attempts for an independent investigation of the incident.

The intransigence is particularly baffling because, in the days after the attack, which left at least 23 people dead, senior military and White House officials had enough information to say publicly the U.S. had made a “mistake” by firing on the hospital.

Update #1: Group renews push for hospital bombing probe on anniversary (The Hill)
Update #2: Doctors Without Borders demands justice over Kunduz airstrike (DW)
Update #3: No signs of promised report 1 month after Afghan hospital bombing (Washington Examiner)

WNU Editor: They must not feel comfortable with what they have discovered to be this quiet. They may still release this report within the next week or two .... but my gut is telling me that a preliminary report will probably be released around Christmas .... where such news is buried and forgotten.

President Obama Calls 'Doctors Without Borders' To Apologize For The U.S. Attack On Their Hospital In Afghanistan

NBC: Obama Calls Doctors Without Borders to Apologize for Hospital Airstrike

President Obama called the Doctors Without Borders chief and the president of Afghanistan to apologize for the airstrike on a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday.

The president spoke by telephone with Doctors Without Borders International President Dr. Joanne Liu, to apologize and express his condolences for the organization's staff and patients who were killed and injured when a U.S. military airstrike mistakenly struck a field hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan over the weekend, Earnest told reporters during the White House press briefing.

The president promised a full investigation of the incident.

The president also spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to "express his condolences for the innocent loss of life in that incident," Earnest said.

WNU Editor: Like Abu Gharib in Iraq, this U.S. air strike on an Afghan hospital is going to have a long term impact on the future U.S. role in Afghanistan.

More News On President Obama Calling 'Doctors Without Borders' To Apologize For The U.S. Attack On Their Hospital In Afghanistan

Obama apologizes for Afghan hospital attack, MSF demands independent probe -- Reuters
Obama Apologizes for Bombing of Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Afghanistan -- NYT
Obama apologizes to Doctors Without Borders for airstrike -- CBS
Obama apologizes for Afghan hospital bombing -- Washington Post
Obama calls Doctors Without Borders head to apologize for airstrike -- Politico
Doctors Without Borders calls on Obama to support probe in Afghanistan hospital strike -- FOX News
Obama Apologizes to MSF Over Kunduz Bombing -- VOA
Obama apologizes to Doctors Without Borders for U.S. bombing of hospital -- USA Today

More News On Doctors Without Borders Deciding To 'Quit' Somalia

Deadly Attacks Force Doctors Without Borders To Quit Somalia -- Reuters

* Charity says 16 staff killed since 1991
* Islamist militants loot hospital, force patients out
* War-torn Somalia still faces stubborn insurgency (Adds al Shabaab looting, quotes from district chief)

NAIROBI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - A medical charity that was a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Somalis announced on Wednesday it was pulling out of the country, saying the threat of deadly violence had become intolerable.

The withdrawal of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, is a blow to the government's effort to persuade Somalis and foreign donors that security is improving and a stubborn Islamist insurgency is on the wane.

"The closure of our activities is a direct result of extreme attacks on our staff, in an environment where armed groups and civilian leaders increasingly support, tolerate or condone the killing, assaulting and abducting of humanitarian aid workers," Unni Karunakara, MSF's international president, told reporters in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Read more ....

Doctors Without Borders To Quit Somalia

Doctors Without Borders Is Forced to Abandon Somalia -- Atlantic Wire
Médecins Sans Frontières to pull out of Somalia after 22 years -- The Guardian
Doctors Without Borders Pulls out of Somalia -- ABC News/AP
MSF closes operations in Somalia over 'extreme attacks' -- BBC
Deadly attacks force Doctors Without Borders to quit Somalia -- Swiss Info

Doctors Without Borders Retreat From Southern Sudan

Instability In Southern Sudan Forces Retreat For Doctors Without Borders -- Voice of America

A medical aid agency says increasing insecurity has forced it to stop work in a volatile part of southern Sudan.

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) said Friday gunmen robbed its staff and clinic in Gumuruk, in Jonglei state, three separate times in July.

Twice, armed groups stole therapeutic ready-to-use food intended for malnourished children, and on the second occasion they also stole medical equipment.

And in a third incident on July 27, three staff members were violently robbed at gunpoint.

Read more ....

More News On Doctors Without Borders Retreating From South Sudan

MSF suspends aid to south Sudan region after attacks -- Reuters
MSF suspends aid in part of south Sudan -- AFP
Aid group suspends work due to South Sudan attacks -- AP
Sudan: Security Incidents Force MSF to Suspend Activities in Gumuruk -- Doctors Without Borders

My Comment: I am a few days late with this post, but with South Sudan gearing up for a referendum on its future place in a greater Sudan, this reaction from Doctors Without Borders is an ominous warning on how dangerous the situation is rapidly becoming in this entire region.

2009's Top 10 Humanitarian Crises: Doctors Without Borders.

Conflicts In Middle East, Africa Are Top Ten Crises Of 2009, Report Says -- Deutsche Welle

Doctors Without Borders has released a new report highlighting the 10 worst humanitarian crises of 2009. The group said that one of the crises is the dwindling funding used for fighting HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

Humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders says in a new report that ongoing conflicts in parts of the Near East and Central and Eastern Africa are among the ten worst global crises of 2009.

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More News On The Top Ten Crisis Of 2009

Medical Aid Group Issues Top 10 Humanitarian Crises List -- Voice of America
Aid group lists Top 10 worst humanitarian crises -- Reuters
Blocking of aid worsened 2009 humanitarian crises, group says -- The Guardian
Group: HIV/AIDS among Top 10 crises of the year -- AP
No honors being on MSF’s top 10 list -- Global Post
Gallery: Top Ten Humanitarian Crises 2009 -- Medecins Sans Frontieres