MSF pulls out of Mandera after grenade attack on its staff

The international humanitarian organization Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Wednesday it had decided to pull its operations out of the northeastern town of Mandera following a "serious" security incident, in which a hand grenade was thrown into a compound where the agency was running a clinic for malnourished children.

"MSF will not return to Mandera unless security in the area is guaranteed and there is a clearer understanding of the motives behind the attack," the agency said in a statement.

One person was killed and four others, including a Dutch doctor, were seriously injured in the attack. Media reports said the suspected attacker had tried to kill the doctor in revenge for his alleged sacking from a clinic run by the agency.

MSF said it had been treating 38 patients in the therapeutic feeding centre in the town before the incident happened, and was about to undertake a long-term project at a children's ward in Mandera district hospital.

Kenyan police spokesman King'ori Mwangi said the suspect, a Somali national, had been arrested while trying to flee across the border, and brought to the capital, Nairobi, to await murder charges.

He urged the agency not to pull out of the district. "Humanitarian agencies on the ground have local security support from the local administration. There is even a military camp in the area. They can ask for anything they want. Should they not be assured of their security, they should come to us at the headquarters. But I am not aware of any such miscommunication," he told IRIN.