After an attack on a team from Doctors Without Borders in El Salvador, the aid organization ceases its work in the Central American country for the time being. Members of an armed gang had stopped an ambulance of the organization yesterday in a settlement in the greater San Salvador area and attacked a doctor and a nurse, as MSF announced. The two victims were slightly injured in the process, but were ultimately able to flee.
„Until details of the act of violence are clarified“
„We see ourselves forced to stop our activities until the details of this act of violence have been clarified,“ said Doctors Without Borders in a statement. The human rights prosecutor condemned the incident. The security situation in El Salvador has improved considerably recently, but the country is still one of the most dangerous in the world. Youth gangs – the „Maras“ – control entire districts and are involved in extortion and drug trafficking.
The NGO Doctors Without Borders is offering a minimum of medical care in individual districts of San Salvador and in the city of Soyapango after the health authorities withdrew from these red zones due to the extreme violence. Most recently, the aid organization was deployed in El Salvador with 58 employees.
