MSF-Swiss pulls out of Ethiopian Ogaden

July 10, 2008 (GENEVA) — The Swiss branch of Medecins sans Frontieres Thursday said it was withdrawing from Ethiopia’s Somali region due to intimidation from the Ethiopian authorities.

“The authorities’ attitude towards humanitarian organizations has translated into recurrent arrests of MSF Switzerland staff without charge or explanation,” MSF said in a statement.

These “repeated administrative hurdles and intimidation” had prevented the aid agency from bringing urgently needed medical aid to the population.

MSF Switzerland had started an aid program in December 2007 in the Fiiq region, which is in the Somali part of Ethiopia.

“Over the six months of our intervention, our medical teams could only work for ten weeks in Fiiq town and five in the periphery of the town where the most important needs are,” said Hugues Robert, who is in charge of the Ethiopia program in Geneva.

Since April last year, increasing violence and economic blockages linked to ongoing conflict between the authorities and opposition movements had hit the civilian population hard.

The situation has been further worsened by regional drought.

(AFP)