Somalia: ICRC-supported surgical team operates on wounded in Galkayo

A surgical team supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), consisting of a surgeon from Medina Hospital in Mogadishu and an anaesthetist and a nurse from the Somali Red Crescent Society, completed a mission in Galkayo today where they helped treat the wounded and performed 22 operations in Mudug General Hospital.

"The team treated head and chest wounds, open fractures and other serious injuries," said Dr Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, the president of the Somali Red Crescent. "Our strict adherence to the principles of neutrality and impartiality enables us to obtain access to remote areas where medical help is needed."

The medical personnel had been dispatched to Galkayo on 6 September in response to a request from the local authorities. The ICRC also provided three kits, each containing one tonne of materials for the treatment of at least 50 patients with violence-related injuries.

The ICRC works closely with the Somali Red Crescent to provide emergency aid for victims of conflict and natural disasters in the country. To ensure that people wounded by weapons receive appropriate medical care, the ICRC provides support for two surgical referral hospitals in Mogadishu – Keysaney Hospital, run by the Somali Red Crescent, and the community-based Medina Hospital – and for other medical facilities within and outside the capital. Since the beginning of the year, more than 4,000 war-wounded patients have been treated in ICRC-supported medical facilities in Somalia.

For further information, please contact:
Yves Van Loo, ICRC Somalia, tel: +254 736 084 015
Nicole Engelbrecht, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 22 71 or +41 79 217 32 17