On 14 October, on the outskirts of Nampala in the Segou region of central Mali, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team and community health workers were violently attacked and robbed by armed men, along with civilians. The men who carried out the attack were conducting regular military operations in the area. Our team was providing care to the community when the incident took place.

This violence against civilians and humanitarian workers is unacceptable. MSF reiterates that all parties to the conflict must respect civilians, humanitarian staff, health facilities, and patients.

Following this incident, we had to take the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our medical activities in the Nampala area, depriving communities of essential care. Discussions are underway with all local, regional, and national stakeholders to ensure that such violence does not occur again. This would enable us to resume providing essential care to people as soon as possible, with complete safety for our teams.

MSF has been present in Nampala since 2022 and is currently the only international NGO active in the area. Our staff provide vital free medical care to communities on the outskirts, as well as to people displaced by the many military operations in the area. Years of conflict have led to high health needs in this region, and now the number of cases of malaria is rising, which can be fatal for children under five years old and pregnant women.