The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan has called on all parties in the Afghan conflict to respect the medical aims of the organisation and all health workers, warning of the dangers of losing this humanitarian assistance.
Gerardo Pantrandolphe, ICRC chief in Afghanistan, made the comments Thursday to TOLOnews after the organisation said it is withdrawing its medical operations from north Afghanistan following the death of two staff at the hands of insurgents earlier this week.
"Our main message to the all parties of the conflict is to spare civilians from fighting, respect medical personnel, respect the medical infrastructure, respect medical transport, because the safety of our staff is very important. If somebody is wounded or killed, medical nurses or doctors cannot perform their tasks as there is no use in sending people to conflict area where there is no full respect for the medical mission," he said in an interview with TOLOnews.
"We are in touch with all the parties of the conflict in Afghanistan and we ask them to respect the medical and humanitarian missions. In some parts we have talked with the armed opposition groups and that was very positive and they promised us that if our humanitarian activities are impartial and independent they will support us."
Pantrandolphe said the decision to withdraw from an area only happens when there are real concerns about the immunity of the staff from the conflict around them.
The death of two ICRC workers on Tuesday evening at the start of Afghanistan's warmer seasons – traditionally the time of greater insurgent violence – was very serious and underlined the risks taken by the staff.
He said he hoped for a peaceful resolution to Afghanistan's violence in order for the many citizens to be able to receive the necessary humanitarian and medical assistance they need.
"I truly hope that there will be a political settlement of the conflicts in Afghanistan. Our concern is that on the contrary there may be some problems in finding a peaceful solution for the conflicts," he said.
Nevertheless, he said the ICRC continues to support Afghanistan as does the international community and will do so after the US-led foreign soldiers withdraw in 2014.