Humanitarian engagement with armed groups has long been a defining feature of the International Committee of the Red Cross' (ICRC) work. Direct contact and dialogue with armed groups, enable access to territories and persons they control, and allow the ICRC to assist people affected by armed conflict.
In Mali, people’s lives continue to be heavily impacted by the conflict there. Back in September, Martin Schüepp, the new director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Sarah Epprecht, the ICRC's new director of protection and essential services, visited the country to take stock of the situation, which is getting worse by the day.