Tripoli, 28 July 2019—The World Health Organization strongly condemns yesterday’s attack on Az Zawiyah Field Hospital in the south of Tripoli. Five health workers were killed and 8 were injured in the attack. The hospital was damaged and forced to suspend its services.
This latest incident is one of dozens of confirmed attacks on health care in Libya in 2019. So far in 2019, WHO’s Surveillance System of Attacks on Healthcare has registered a total of 37 attacks on health facilities, 11 health workers killed, and 33 health workers and patients injured in the country. Although WHO has repeatedly condemned these incidents, they continue unabated. These attacks are a grave violation of international humanitarian law. Their consequences are immediate and devastating in terms of lives cut short, people severely injured and thousands more deprived of access to essential health care services.
“This deplorable attack is the latest in a series of violations targeting health facilities,” said Elizabeth Hoff, WHO Representative in Libya. “The armed conflict in Tripoli continues to take a heavy toll on health care workers. The very people who have dedicated their existence to saving the lives of others are being killed themselves.”
