Families Request Privacy
It is with great relief that MSF confirms that Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut, abducted from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya on October 13, 2011, have been released.
BARCELONA/MADRID—Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut, the two Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aid workers released yesterday in Somalia after spending 21 months in captivity, will arrive today at the Spanish airbase of Torrejón (Madrid) from Djibouti.
MSF is extremely relieved to confirm the release of its two colleagues, who were abducted from refugee camps near Dadaab, Kenya, on October 13, 2011, and held in Somalia. MSF continues to provide full support to Mone and Blanca, as well as to their families. Mone and Blanca need time to adjust to their freedom and MSF requests that media and the public respect their need for privacy.
“Once again, MSF strongly condemns the attack against these humanitarian aid workers, who were providing medical assistance to the most vulnerable Somali population fleeing hunger and war in their country,” said Jose Antonio Bastos, president of MSF-Spain.
MSF wishes to thank everyone for the support and solidarity shown to the families of Mone and Blanca. The organization is also grateful to the media for its understanding of the sensitivities surrounding communications about the abduction and for its consideration towards the families of the women. The public and the media are asked to maintain the same considerations now that they are free.
