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Charity suspends work after abduction in Russia
MOSCOW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres has suspended its work in Russia's volatile southern fringe after the abduction of one of its workers, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
Dutch national Peter-Arjan Erkel was kidnapped on Monday night by three armed men in the Caucasus province of Dagestan, which borders separatist Chechnya.
"MSF is extremely concerned about Arjan's fate and urges whoever is holding him to respect his physical and mental integrity and to release him unharmed," MSF said in a statement.
"Following this incident, MSF has decided to also suspend its operations in Dagestan and (neighbouring) Ingushetia for the time being."
Kidnappings for ransom have become commonplace in the Caspian Sea province of Dagestan, where law and order have all but collapsed under shockwaves from the conflict in Chechnya. Foreigners are favourite targets in a region awash with arms.
But MSF said it had not received ransom demands or heard any news of the 32-year-old, who had been working in Dagestan as the head of the Swiss section of MSF since April.
MSF provides medical help to tent camps across Ingushetia and Dagestan, where some 150,000 refugees are sheltering from the Chechen war. It supports mobile clinics, hospitals and drug distribution programmes in Chechnya.
MSF suspended work in Chechnya in July after the abduction of Nina Davidovich, the head of a local aid agency.
"Because the position of ordinary people, particularly Chechens, is so precarious and the medical needs are so great, MSF will continuously review the situation to decide whether to maintain the suspension," the agency said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has some 300 local staff and 19 expatriates in the Caucasus, said it would assess the situation but had taken no decision to pull out.
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