May 01, 2018

BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC/NEW YORK, MAY 1, 2018—About 60 people who were wounded today amid fighting in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic (CAR), were treated in medical facilities run by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

The fighting, including exchanges of gunfire, took place around the PK5 and Fatima neighborhoods of Bangui and resulted in many wounded.

Five people received first aid and were stabilized in MSF's Gbaya Dombia maternity center, located in PK5, one of whom was transferred in critical condition to MSF's Sica Hospital, which provides emergency and surgical care.

More than 50 wounded people were admitted to Sica Hospital, all with gunshot wounds sustained during today's violence. Six died from their injuries. Other wounded people were treated in other medical facilities in Bangui.

As an ambulance arrived at Sica Hospital at midday, a group of people gathered in front of the hospital doors to demonstrate angrily, directly threatening the facility and blocking access to other ambulances.

"Sica Hospital is one of the only hospitals in Bangui to provide free and specialized surgical care," said Anne-Marie Boyeldieu, MSF head of mission for CAR. "MSF calls on everyone in Bangui to respect and facilitate the work of the medical staff, who have a duty to treat people in need of medical assistance, regardless of their background, religious or political affiliations."

MSF provides medical services in 12 locations in CAR, including three medical facilities in Bangui.