Medical specialists brought in for facial trauma

MSF is planning to base a plastic surgeon in Keren to deal with facial trauma victims. MSF head of mission in Asmara Tony Parmar said Eritrea had general surgeons but that the government had requested help with specialists, including plastic surgeons and ear, nose and throat specialists. He said the team "would not discriminate" between civilian and military victims. MSF France expects to have a complete surgical team, including an anaesthetist, by the weekend, along with medical teams established by Medecins du Monde , ICRC and the Italian Cooperation.

Meanwhile, humanitarian sources told IRIN that aid workers visiting Barentu over the weekend had reported the town empty of civilians. The Eritrean authorities are in the process of de-mining the area, said the source. The movements of the displaced are still very fluid, with the three main established camps receiving new arrivals every day, but with some people leaving the camps to try and return to "liberated" villages.
Humanitarian sources told IRIN that because many of the displaced remained unaccounted for and were known to be in areas difficult to access, international agencies were "playing a waiting game" to see how many would ultimately need assistance. The Eritrean government claims some three quarters of a million people are displaced as a result of the conflict.