The medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continues to support the families of Blanca Thiebaut and Montserrat Serra, who were abducted while working to help Somali refugees in Dadaab, Kenya. MSF once again states its anger and shock over this act of violence and demands their immediate release.

Montserrat and Blanca were abducted by armed men on 13 October 2011 from Dadaab’s Ifo 2 refugee camp, in northeastern Kenya, while working on the construction of a hospital. Since then, they have been held against their will in Somalia. MSF again strongly condemns this attack.

The families of Montserrat and Blanca express their pain and concern over the abduction and declare their absolute commitment to do what is possible for their release. Through MSF, they thank the media and other local, national and international institutions for the caution they have shown over the past year with regard to the abduction, and request that they continue to exercise discretion.

MSF has maintained a continuous presence in Somalia since 1991 and currently runs 12 programmes across the country. MSF teams also assist Somali refugees in camps across the border in Ethiopia and Kenya. Thousands of Somalis have been displaced from their homes or have fled to neighbouring countries due to intense conflict, violence, drought, malnutrition and infectious diseases. The extreme level of insecurity in many parts of Somalia poses a huge challenge to the provision of lifesaving care.