Tag Archives: Doctors Without Borders

Civil War Risks Triggering ‘Epic, Biblical-Style Famine’ in Sudan

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“Millions of lives and the peace and stability of an entire region are at stake,” warned the head of the World Food Program.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 3-6-2024 by Common Dreams

South Sudanese children at the Imvepi Refugee camp in Northern Uganda. Photo: UNMISS/flickr/CC

International humanitarian organizations warned Wednesday that Sudan’s civil war risks triggering severe famine unless the fighting stops.

Fighting between rival factions of Sudan’s military government broke out nearly 11 months ago and spread rapidly throughout the northeastern African nation of 46 million people. Around 15,000 people have been killed and nearly 6 million others displaced during the war, while an estimated 1.5 million Sudanese have fled the country as refugees.

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UN Members Support Gaza Cease-Fire in Overwhelming 153-10 Vote

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“Humanity has prevailed,” said Egyptian Ambassador Osama Abdel Khalek. “The Israeli aggression on Gaza must end. This bloodshed must stop.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 12-12-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Aloominati/X

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution demanding “an immediate humanitarian cease-fire” in Israel’s two-month war on Gaza after the U.S. last week used its permanent member status to veto a similar Security Council measure.

The resolution also demands “that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians,” as well as “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access.”

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US State Dept. Officials Told Not to Use Terms ‘De-Escalation/Cease-Fire’ About Gaza

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“This is unconscionable and will leave an indelible stain,” said one critic, who urged “resignations and collective action” to protest the reported policy.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 10-13-2023 by Common Dreams

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Photo: GPA Photo Archive/flickr/CC

As Israel on Friday bombarded civilians in Gaza and prepared for a ground invasion in response to Hamas’ recent attack, U.S. State Department leadership reportedly instructed officials not to publicly use some terms that would advocate for less violence.

According to HuffPost, which reviewed official emails, “State Department staff wrote that high-level officials do not want press materials to include three specific phrases: ‘de-escalation/cease-fire,’ ‘end to violence/bloodshed,’ and ‘restoring calm.'”

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Saudi Bombings Kill Scores of Civilians—Including Children—in Yemen

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“America is complicit in this,” said one critic of “this horrific war that Biden and his senior officials once promised to end.”

By Andrea Germanos  Published 1-21-2022 by Common Dreams

Aftermath of air strile in Hodeida on January 20, 2022. Photo: Marwa Osman/Twitter

A series of Saudi-led airstrikes were blamed Friday for killing scores of people in Yemen as civilians, including children, continue to suffer deadly consequences of the U.S.-backed conflict that has lasted for years.

Overnight bombings included one that targeted a prison holding mostly migrants in the northern city of Sa’ada, an area described as being under the control of Houthi forces. Continue reading →

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Trump Condemned for ‘Morally Reprehensible’ Plan That Rights Groups Warn Means Death for Asylum-Seekers

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“Instead of offering protection to people fleeing these conditions, the United States is instead pursuing a disastrous plan that could carry deadly consequences.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-26-2019

Undocumented immigrant children at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas. Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Human rights advocates on Thursday warned that a “suspect” asylum deal negotiated between the White House and the president of Honduras—along with similar agreements with Guatemala and El Salvador—could endanger thousands of refugees and could even prove deadly for many people in search of safety.

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday it struck a deal with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to send asylum-seekers who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border to Honduras if they have not already sought asylum there en route to the United States. Continue reading →

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Journalist killings, arrests and assaults climb worldwide as authoritarianism spreads

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Reuters reporters Wa Lone, left, and Kyaw Soe Oo after being freed from prison, in Yangon, Myanmar, May 7, 2019. Ann Wang/Pool Photo via AP

Randy Covington, University of South Carolina

Myanmar, nudged by the conscience of the world, recently released two Reuters journalists imprisoned for more than 500 days – good news in what otherwise has been a dismal period for media freedom.

The 2019 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders shows how hatred of journalists has degenerated into violence and created “an intense climate of fear” worldwide. Continue reading →

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Senator: “Let Me Repeat… The US Helped Bomb A DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS CHOLERA TREATMENT FACILITY”

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“Whether intentional or a result of negligence, it is totally unacceptable,” said the medical aid group in a statement

By Jon Queally, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-11-2018

A newly constructed cholera treatment center run by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Abs, Yemen, was bombed the Saudi/UAE/US coalition on Monday. (Photo: MSF)

After the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières on Monday announced that a newly constructed cholera treatment center in Yemen was bombed on Monday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)—who has led the fight in the U.S. Senate to end the U.S. military’s key role in assisting Saudi Arabia’s assault on its war-torn and poverty-stricken neighbor—lashed out in disgust and anger on social media.

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Complicit in Civilian Carnage, US Support for War in Yemen Called ‘Indefensible’

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Citing pending arms deal for Saudis, sharply-worded NYT editorial says “American support for war” must end

By Jon Queally, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-17-2016

Photo: Fahd Sadi

Photo: Fahd Sadi

Amid an escalation of violence, increasing numbers of civilian casualties, and a nearly unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the New York Times editorial board on Wednesday called the United States “complicit in the carnage” and demanded the Obama administration end its support for the Saudi-led coalition which has repeatedly been accused of war crimes by critics.

The editorial reads: Continue reading →

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‘Unacceptable’: Kunduz Survivors Lambaste Pentagon Claim of No War Crime

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They should be treated as murders’

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-30-2016

Photo: Twitter

Photo: Twitter

“Unacceptable.”

That’s the reaction from 27-year old Hamdullah to the Pentagon’s announcement Friday that the U.S. military’s deadly airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan did not amount to a war crime.

His uncle was among the 42 people killed in the October 3, 2015 strike. Continue reading →

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Outrageous Targeting’ as MSF-Supported Hospital in Syria Bombed

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‘Where is the outrage among those with the power and obligation to stop this carnage?’

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-28-2016

In this image made from video and posted online from Validated UGC, a man carries a child after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria, Thursday, April 28, 2016. (Validated UGC via AP video)

In this image made from video and posted online from Validated UGC, a man carries a child after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria, Thursday, April 28, 2016. (Validated UGC via AP video)

Doctors Without Borders said Thursday that a hospital it supported in the Syrian city of Aleppo was bombed, destroying the key pediatric facility and killing at least 14 people.

The medical humanitarian aid group, also known by its French acronym, MSF, said in a statement that two doctors were among the casualties, including one of last pediatricians in Aleppo, and that other medical structures in the city had also been attacked this week.

Witnesses said the Al Quds hospital was hit by a missile from a fighter jet Wednesday, according to CNN. Continue reading →

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