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LESOTHO: LESOTHO RED CROSS AIDING VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE: Following the recent outbreak of violence in Lesotho and subsequent military intervention by South Africa and Botswana on 22 September, the Lesotho Red Cross Society swung into action to meet urgent needs.
KENYA/SUDAN: INFLUX AT LOKICHOKIO HOSPITAL: Several dozen new casualties are being admitted every week to the ICRC's surgical hospital in Lokichokio, northern Kenya. Last week, patients suffering from gunshot wounds were brought to the facility from 21 locations in southern Sudan.
SIERRA LEONE: OVER 400 OPERATIONS IN THREE MONTHS: An ICRC surgical team has carried out over 400 operations on war-wounded patients at the Netland surgical centre in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, since the facility opened on 26 June.
BHUTAN: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING RENEWED: The Memorandum of Understanding between the Royal Bhutanese Government and the ICRC allowing the latter to visit persons detained for "anti-national activities" was renewed on 20September 1998 following an audience with His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuk and Home Minister Lyompo Thinley Jamtsho in the Bhutanese capital, Thimpu.
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LESOTHO LESOTHO RED CROSS AIDING VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE
Following the recent outbreak of violence in Lesotho and subsequent military intervention by South Africa and Botswana on 22 September, the Lesotho Red Cross Society swung into action to meet urgent needs. First-aid workers treated the injured and took some 60 people to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The Society also took hospital staff from their homes to work in vehicles protected by the red cross emblem.
An ICRC delegate based in neighbouring South Africa promptly went to Lesotho's capital, Maseru. In accordance with its mandate, the ICRC requested and was granted access to persons detained in connection with the violence. Some 151 people held by the South African and Botswana armed forces and by Lesotho security forces have so far been visited by the ICRC, which forwarded 57 private messages ("Red Cross messages") from them to their families. The majority of those detained were subsequently released. The ICRC continues to monitor the situation along with the Lesotho Red Cross in order to take further action if necessary.
Further information: Roland Sidler, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2281
KENYA/SUDAN INFLUX AT LOKICHOKIO HOSPITAL
Several dozen new casualties are being admitted every week to the ICRC's surgical hospital in Lokichokio, northern Kenya. Last week, patients suffering from gunshot wounds were brought to the facility from 21 locations in southern Sudan. So far this year, the hospital has treated 1,280 people.
Because there are virtually no health-care facilities left in southern Sudan after 16 years of war and owing to the scarcity of medical care in the region around Lokichokio, the ICRC hospital also admits pregnant women, people bitten by snakes and crocodiles, and accident victims.
In addition to providing surgical services, the ICRC runs a limb-fitting centre which produces over 250 artificial limbs a year and provides basic instruction in medical care to its patients, who put their knowledge to use when they return home.
Further information: Roland Sidler, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2281
SIERRA LEONE OVER 400 OPERATIONS IN THREE MONTHS
An ICRC surgical team has carried out over 400 operations on war-wounded patients at the Netland surgical centre in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, since the facility opened on 26 June.
Most of the people treated are suffering from gunshot wounds or injuries caused by grenades or machetes. They come mainly from the north and east of the country, where rebel fighters are battling Sierra Leone government forces, West African forces (ECOMOG) and traditional Kamajor hunters.
About 20 patients who have lost both hands have undergone surgery using the Krukenberg procedure. Bernhard Mandrella, a German surgeon working for the ICRC, explained: "This is an old method which consists in separating the bones and muscles at the stump for a distance of a few centimetres, leaving the patient with a sort of a pincer. After a few weeks of special exercises these double amputees recover some mobility in their stumps and thus regain a measure of independence, which is crucial for their return to normal life".
Further information: Roland Sidler, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 4122 730 2281
BHUTAN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING RENEWED
The Memorandum of Understanding between the Royal Bhutanese Government and the ICRC allowing the latter to visit persons detained for "anti-national activities" was renewed on 20September 1998 following an audience with His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuk and Home Minister Lyompo Thinley Jamtsho in the Bhutanese capital, Thimpu.
The ICRC started visiting security detainees in Bhutanese prisons in 1993 under a memorandum that was due to lapse in November this year. It has now been renewed for a further five-year period as a mark of the authorities' confidence in the role played by the ICRC in this domain.
Between 17 and 24 September 1998 the ICRC carried out a visit, in accordance with its standard procedures, to 127 detainees in Thimpu District Jail and 54 others in Chamgang Central Jail. During the visit delegates distributed 34 Red Cross messages sent to detainees by relatives living in refugee camps in Jhapa, eastern Nepal. Fifty-five messages were collected from the detainees for delivery when the ICRC next goes to the Jhapa camps. The Royal Bhutanese Government renewed its commitment to authorizing families who live in Nepal to visit relatives detained in Bhutan. Such visits have taken place in the past with the ICRC's assistance.
The King also expressed a keen interest in spreading knowledge of international humanitarian law among the police and armed forces with the cooperation of the ICRC.
Further information: Ruben Ortega, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 4122 730 3203
During the weekend of 3 - 4 October 1998, for all information please call the press officer on duty Ruben Ortega, on (mobile) 41 79 217 32 03