Libya: medical supplies delivered to Bani Walid amid tensions

GENEVA, Switzerland, October 11, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Following appeals from civilians in Bani Walid, in western Libya, medical personnel from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) went to the city yesterday to provide medical supplies and assess the condition of injured patients.

"We are concerned by the tense situation in Bani Walid and by reports of confrontations in the area. ICRC staff entered Bani Walid after securing the agreement of all parties concerned," said Ishfaq Muhammad Khan, head of the ICRC delegation in Libya. "Our role in Bani Walid, as previously in Misrata, Kufra, and Sabha is to respond to the humanitarian needs of the people."

In Bani Walid, the ICRC delivered to the main hospital enough materials to treat 50 seriously injured patients, as well as drugs for the treatment of chronic diseases. "For the time being, the hospital is managing to cope with its caseload of injured patients, so we did not evacuate anyone," said Bernadette Gleeson, an ICRC health delegate who went to Bani Walid.

The team also provided the Dahra polyclinic with triage supplies.

The ICRC is an independent, neutral, and impartial humanitarian organization whose exclusively humanitarian role is to protect the lives and dignity of people affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence and provide them with assistance.