Boko Haram: MSF quits Nigerian town of Rann

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres(MSF) said on Friday it had suspended its work in the Nigerian town of Rann and evacuated national and international staff after a deadly raid by Boko Haram guerrillas.

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed four Nigerian aid workers in an attack on a military barracks in the town in Borno state late on Thursday.

“Following a violent attack in Rann, Borno state, on Thursday 1 March, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) suspended its medical activities in the town and evacuated 22 national and international staff,” MSF said in a statement.

“It is still unclear how many people were killed and injured but before leaving, MSF medical staff treated 9 wounded patients.

” “This attack is a stark reminder that it is the people in Borno who are paying the price of this ruthless conflict””, MSF said.

“Leaving our patients without medical assistance is an extremely painful decision”, it added.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Senate President Bukola Saraki have condemned the attack on the town.

President Buhari said the attack on humanitarian workers in Rann more than ever showed Boko Haram insurgents as godless, brutish, and utterly to be despised.

“As I have always maintained, no true religion advocates hurting the innocent. To now further attack and kill those offering humanitarian aid is the height of bestiality. It is odious before both God and man,” the President said.

The Nigerian leader sympathised with the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies working at Rann, and in the country generally.

President Buhari affirmed that such cowardly attacks can only bolster the determination of government to bring the Boko Haram insurgency to a decisive end, in the shortest possible time.

President of the Senate, in a tweet on his personal handle ‘@BukolaSaraki’, described the attack as cowardly — while also calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

He said:“My prayers are with the people of Rann, Borno State at this time.

“Last night’s despicable attack that led to the deaths of several aid workers is a callous and cowardly act. Our security forces must not relent until they bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice.”

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