Patients have described the desperate situation in Rakhine state to MSF staff. Some reported seeing people bombed while trying to find boats to cross the river into Bangladesh and escape the violence. Others described seeing hundreds of dead bodies on the riverbanks. Many patients spoke of being separated from their families en route to safer areas and of loved ones being killed in the violence. Many people said they were fearful that family members remaining in Myanmar would not survive.
Conflict has been escalating in Rakhine state since October 2023, causing immense suffering to Rohingya communities and crippling the healthcare system.
“Our patients tell us that they faced extreme difficulties in accessing medical facilities in Myanmar due to the highly volatile situation there,” says Murphy.
The conflict has also impacted our ability to run medical activities safely. In June, MSF was forced to suspend our services in northern Rakhine state because of the violence, depriving people of vital medical care and further deepening the humanitarian crisis.
We call for the immediate protection of civilians caught up in the conflict.
“People must not come under indiscriminate attack and should be allowed to leave for safer areas, while all those in need of vital medical care should have unhindered and sustained access to medical facilities,” says Murphy.
Fonte original msf.org
