Health inspection and quarantine researchers work in their laboratory at an airport in Qingdao, Shandong province August 11, 2014
Four Indian doctors in Nigeria, who claim they are being forced to treat Ebola patients against their will, have appealed to the Indian government to facilitate their return.
The doctors claim that their passports have been taken away and they are being issued threats by the Abuja-based private hospital Primus, where they are employed. The hospital has denied the charge.
The hospital has also requested them not to abandon their duties. It has issued an advisory to all its doctors, asking them to continue offering medical services "in the interest of humanity".
The Indian High Commission in Nigeria is in touch with the doctors and the hospital. "Both sides have agreed to come to an amicable solution," an official in the Ministry of External Affairs told PTI.
The official also said they were not expecting trouble, since the hospital is owned by Indians. Besides, the hospital is also correct in saying there are no cases of Ebola in Abuja, he added.
MEA spokesperson Syed Akbarudin has appealed to the doctors to have patience. But the doctors appeared to be under considerable stress.
"We have been waiting outside the High Commission premises for the last 34 hours," Dr Dinesh, one of the four doctors, told PTI. "We want our passports back. I cannot live here," added Dr Yogesh, who accompanied him.