Red Cross, Red Crescent condemn torching of clinic in Gedo

GOOBJOOG NEWS|GEDO: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) have condemned an attack on their facilities in Gedo region last week terming the arson as ‘unacceptable.

The two aid organisations said in a joint statement they were appalled by the torching of their facilities in Bardhere district in Gedo region.

“This is unacceptable. The families who go to the clinic are now forced to seek medical care elsewhere. Under no circumstance should a health facility be attacked or healthcare workers injured,” Juerg Eglin adding that the clinic conducts up to 2,000 consultations every month.

SRCS director in Somalia Ahmed Mohamed Adale said the clinics has been widely destroyed. “Our three colleagues are recovering from their injuries. We are assessing the damage to the clinic but the destruction is massive. The fire consumed the entire clinic and it took hours to put it out,” said Adale.

Unknown assailants set on fire the Somali Red Crescent clinic in Bardhere last week shocking residents as there was no known intend for the attack. The assailants are reported to have killed a civilian in a market in the same areas the following day.