Yemen: MSF receives patients following missile attacks in Marib
MSF teams treated 14 people including women and children amidst a new wave of conflict in the area
Monday, October 4, 2021 — Multiple civilians have been injured and at least four killed, including two young children, in missile attacks in the residential area of Rawdah Jadidah in Marib governorate on Sunday 3 October, said Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). MSF staff working in the emergency department of Marib General Hospital, in conjunction with other hospital staff, treated 14 people including women and children; eight of whom were in a critical condition, while four arrived at the hospital deceased.
MSF teams received two children who died of their injuries. Among the injured, MSF treated a pregnant woman with blast injures to her chest, a child with multiple shrapnel wounds, and a two-month-old baby with a traumatic brain injury. The pregnant woman and baby were later transferred to another hospital that specialises in maternity and paediatric care for further treatment.
“MSF is deeply concerned about the impact of the recent clashes in Marib Governorate on civilians. After nearly seven years of conflict, yesterday’s missile attacks are yet another example of the appalling effects of the conflict on the population of Yemen,” said Allen Murphy, MSF’s project coordinator in Marib.
Marib is witnessing a new intense wave of conflict in the city and surroundings recently. Over the past two weeks, the Marib General Hospital has received hundreds of war-wounded patients, including civilians. MSF calls on the warring parties to respect International Humanitarian Law that ensures the safety of civilians during conflict.
Before the start of the conflict in Yemen, Marib was home to almost 400,000 people, according to local authorities. Now, it hosts nearly 2.7 million people, including internally displaced people from elsewhere and many who have been displaced on several occasions. The recent escalation of violence could risk forcing more people into displacement and increase the already unmet humanitarian needs in terms of shelter, food, water, protection and healthcare.
MSF has been supporting Marib General Hospital in its emergency room since April 2021. We support the hospital with medical staff including doctors, nurses, and a surgeon. MSF also runs mobile clinics covering a total of eight locations in Marib to provide primary healthcare services to internally displaced people, migrants and muhamasheen community.
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MSF is an international, independent, non-profit medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, pandemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. MSF first started working in Yemen in 1986, and has been present in the country continuously since 2007. MSF teams work in 11 hospitals and provide support to another 16 health facilities across 13 governorates. All of MSF’s services in Yemen are supported by private donations without any contribution from any government or donor institution.