MSF pulls out of Pool region

Following several armed hold-ups during the last two months in the Republic of Congo's Pool region, the Dutch branch of Medècines Sans Frontiéres (MSF-Holland) has temporarily suspended its activities in the area. "MSF has decided to temporarily suspend all its activities in the districts of Kindamba, Mindouli and Vindza. The activities in the districts of Kinkala are continued," MSF announced in a statement on Thursday. "On 17 January, marked MSF ambulances with patients and medical equipment on board were stopped by armed men. MSF staff and patients were harassed, and the material was stolen," MSF said. After three such incidences, MSF suspended its operations on 20 January. MSF is the second humanitarian organisation to leave the Pool since the start of 2006. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had suspended its operations a week earlier. The medical charity started its operations in the Pool in 2003. In 2005, the organisation supported three hospitals and nine dispensaries and provided 116,000 free medical examinations. MSF also took care of obstetric emergencies and helped patients with tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The organisation also ran mobile clinics in remote villages. The Pool is still suffering from the effects of several civil wars that ravaged the region from 1998 to 2002. Former combatants who have lost their previous command structure are usually the cause of insecurity.