Bombing “shocking”

The NGO Medecins sans Frontieres (Belgium), which operates in Mapel, expressed shock over the bombing of the town, and said it made it extremely difficult for staff to work. Leen Verstraelen, a spokesperson in Nairobi, told IRIN that the bombing campaign in Bahr el-Ghazal put civilians and humanitarian staff in a dangerous situation. “We are extremely shocked and our volunteer staff are having problems dealing with this.” She said MSF was in the process of seeking more details about the bombing, which reportedly hit a feeding centre in Mapel. No MSF structure was hit, but three bombs fell close to a feeding centre which had previously been used by the organisation. “If the feeding centre was hit, there would have been no children in it”, she confirmed to IRIN. MSF Belgium is operating “as normal” in locations in southern Sudan, including Ajep and Mapel, although MSF France was forced to pull out of northern Bahr el-Ghazal recently because of the bombing campaign, Verstraelen said.