It is with great joy that we confirm the release of our Finnish colleague who was abducted on 20 May. The well-being of our colleague is being assessed at this time. We request privacy for our colleague and our colleague’s family.

We are also still mourning the death of our German colleague and the Afghan house guard who were killed in the initial attack on the Kabul home of our colleagues. Our prayers and thoughts continue to be with both families as we all deal with this tragic loss.

Saturday evening, Kabul time, the residence of two Operation Mercy staff members was broken into. One staff member, a German national, was killed along with her house guard, an Afghan national. Another Operation Mercy staff member, a Finnish national, is missing. We will provide updates as more information becomes available. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families involved.

Please direct all enquiries to Operation Mercy’s spokesperson, Cathy Stanley: media@mercy.se, +46 7614 66 944.

10 April 2016

Today's agreed cessation of hostilities in Yemen comes at a crucial moment when an entire country is on the brink. Humanitarian agencies warned today that should the ceasefire break down again, as previous ones did, the consequences would be catastrophic.

In June, southern Kyrgyzstan erupted in ethnic violence, between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, resulting in an estimated 375,000 people fleeing and almost 80,000 taking shelter in neighbouring Uzbekistan. Although there were wounded and dead people on both sides, the most affected areas and communities were Uzbek.

As we are registered as a relief and development agency in Uzbekistan we made plans to respond to the crisis on the Uzbek side of the border.

Operation Mercy will begin psychosocial interventions in both Osh and Jalal-Abad the first week in July. Trainers, including a specialist in gender-based violence, will provide short courses in order to equip non-professionals in basic empathetic listening and trauma counseling.