NEW YORK/BARCELONA, JULY 7, 2021—Following the brutal murders of three of its staff in the Ethiopian region of Tigray on June 24, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is demanding that local parties to the conflict carry out an immediate investigation into the killings. Without assurances that MSF’s medical work can be carried out safely, the international medical humanitarian organization has suspended its activities in Abi Adi, Adigrat, and Axum in central and eastern Tigray, but will continue to provide assistance to people in other areas of Tigray.
“Almost two weeks since the murders of our colleagues, no one has claimed responsibility, and the circumstances around their deaths remain unclear,” said Teresa Sancristoval, MSF operations director. “This is why we are requesting an immediate investigation by relevant parties to establish the facts of the incident that resulted in these deaths and to provide us with a detailed account of what happened and who was responsible. At this terrible time, we have made the extremely painful but necessary decision to suspend our activities in several areas of Tigray.”