Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) demands that a medical vehicle from the organization be given access to the area where its two workers are detained to assess their health status. Mercedes García and Pilar Bauza, a Spanish doctor and an Argentinian nurse, have been in captivity for more than 48 hours in the area of Bossaso, in Puntland.

The organization reiterates its demand that both Mercedes and Pilar be freed as quickly as possible and calls on all parties involved to continue with the negotiations to achieve a peaceful and immediate resolution, without the use of violence.

"Once again we request the kidnappers to respect the dignity and integrity of our expatriates," says Dr. Paula Farias, President of MSF in Spain. "Attacks on humanitarian workers make access to the most vulnerable people in the country even more difficult."

The organization has intensified contacts with national and international governments and institutions to reach a solution to the crisis and is coordinating with the Spanish Ambassador in Nairobi, Kenya, who is in Bossaso since to mediate the negotiations.

On Wednesday, December 26, the two MSF workers were detained by an armed group. From the beginning, MSF has demanded the immediate release of these two colleagues.

The two workers were kidnapped while traveling to one of the nutritional centers where MSF is assisting some 7,000 children under five who suffer from malnutrition. These children are among the estimated 25,000 internally displaced people living in 19 camps in the region.

The remaining international staff working in the MSF project in Bossaso have been evacuated to Nairobi, Kenya. Yesterday an MSF crisis team in the area, including the Emergency Unit Coordinator, the Head of Mission for Somalia, and an expert on Somalia.

The MSF project in Bossaso started in May 2007. There are eight international and some 100 local staff working in the project.

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