Armed Men Attack MSF Ambulance In Southwest Cameroon

An ambulance belonging to the Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was attacked by armed men while responding to a call in Muyuka, a town in southwest Cameroon, the organisation said.

The attack on the morning of Feb. 4 led to one nurse’s injury, putting her in critical condition and was picked up by a second ambulance. She is now receiving medical attention.

“Access to emergency medical care in these regions is increasingly difficult, our ambulances are often stopped and searched during transfers, and our community volunteers are sometimes harassed by armed men,” the organisation said.

MSF has strongly condemned the attack, emphasising that healthcare facilities and humanitarian workers should not be points of the target.

“MSF is in constant dialogue with different stakeholders to ensure the safety of patients, volunteers and staff. Without community volunteers and ambulances, vulnerable communities would be deprived of medical care,” it added.

The crisis between Anglophone and Francophone regions in Cameroon escalated in 2017 when the Anglophone region led by Julius Sisiku Ayuke declared a new nation from main Cameroon under the name Ambazonia.

The clashes between the military and separatists have led to over 3000 deaths, displacing numerous others.

MSF has been responding to the ongoing crisis happening in the northwest and southwest of Cameroon since 2018, providing necessary medical care through emergency ambulance referrals, secondary level care and a decentralised model of community care.