BANGUI
An international medical aid group decided on Wednesday to evacuated 28 of its staff working at Bangui Community Hospital where they have been treating hundreds of patients in huge tents serving as makeshift wards.
"We have temporarily moved out 28 of our staff who include doctors, surgeons and nurses," Martin Searle, a spokesman for Doctors without Borders (MSF), told Anadolu Agency.
He said the decision was taken after growing insecurity around the hospital.
"We are moving our staff temporarily until the situation normalizes," Searle noted.
Five African Union peacekeepers were killed earlier Wednesday when alleged Christian militiamen ambushed them some 10kms from Bangui, the troubled capital of the Central African Republic (CAR).
Four people were killed today when suspected ex-seleka militants opened fire on worshippers attending Christmas mass at St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church some 12km from Bangui.
The mineral-rich, landlocked central African country, descended into chaos in March when Seleka rebels ousted President François Bozize, a Christian who had come to power through a coup in 2003.
The months since have witnessed clashes between former Seleka fighters and the Christian self-defense anti-balaka militias.
-More suffering-
MSF, which has been working in CAR since 1997, operates two centers in the capital, including the Bangui Community Hospital.
"Many patients were benefiting from the good health services offered by MSF and their qualified staff," a nurse at the hospital told AA.
"They will now suffer after the temporary closure," she lamented.
MSF has treated thousands of people caught up in fighting between rival militias in Bangui in the past weeks.
Searle told AA that their second medical center near Bangui airport will continue to function.
The UN estimates that the latest violence has forced more than 400,000 people – nearly ten percent of the country's 4.6 million-strong population – to abandon their homes.
Thousands are now taking refuge in religious centers, schools and hospitals across the country.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
