Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Health staff in southern Libya strike after doctor's kidnapping

Published 20/11/2017, 15:16
Updated 20/11/2017, 15:20
© Reuters.  Health staff in southern Libya strike after doctor's kidnapping

© Reuters. Health staff in southern Libya strike after doctor's kidnapping

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Medical staff in the southern Libyan city of Sabha said on Monday they were suspending work for 10 days in protest over poor security after a doctor was kidnapped.

Health services in Libya have been severely disrupted by years of conflict with the remote south particularly affected.

Salem al-Selhab, who worked in the surgical department of the Sabha Medical Centre, the biggest hospital in southern Libya, was kidnapped by an unknown group on Thursday evening.

"For a long time the medical staff of the Sabha Medical Centre have suffered attacks, abuse and been shot at," said Osama al-Wafi, a spokesman for the centre, adding that Selhab's kidnapping was a serious setback. "This doctor was very important," he said.

Staff at the centre and at private clinics in the city announced a 10-day strike on Sunday to demand Selhab's release and the provision of security for medical staff.

Sabha is a major hub for the smuggling of migrants towards Libya's northern coast, some of whom seek treatment in local medical facilities.

The Sabha Medical Centre receives 70 percent of its backing from international organizations in the absence of state support from rival governments in Tripoli and the east, said Wafi.

"We suffer greatly from a shortage of medicines, political division and lack of support," he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO), one of the international bodies to provide Sabha Medical Centre with support, strongly condemned violence against staff in the area.

"WHO urges all to refrain from attacking health workers and facilities, as required by international humanitarian law, and calls upon parties responsible for the kidnapping of the doctor in Sabha to ensure his safety and immediate release," it said in a statement.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.