Medical charity MSF suspends operations in Burkina Faso to assess risk

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Medical-aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has suspended operations in Burkina Faso while it carries out a risk assessment following the killing of two staff members in the West African state on 8 February, it said on Friday.

Source: Reuters.

MSF said that for an indefinite period it will only respond to life-saving emergencies in all areas where it provides medical and humanitarian support in Burkina Faso.

"This measure, necessary for the time of mourning, is essential to analyse the risks to which our teams are currently exposed," the group said in a statement.

The group has over 1,000 staff in Burkina Faso and operates in around a dozen localities across the country.

MSF had initially suspended operations in the area of northwest Burkina Faso where armed assailants killed the two employees. The aid group said the employees had been travelling in a clearly marked MSF vehicle during their medical work.

Burkina Faso is one of several West African countries grappling with violent jihadist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.