UN also urges the Ethiopian gov’t to ensure the safety of aid workers in humanitarian operations
ADDIS ABABA: September 6 (EI) — The United Nations (UN) on Friday confirmed the death of two aid workers after an armed in Ethiopia’s Gambella regional state on Thursday.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia, Steven Were Omamo, in a statement issued on behalf of the humanitarian community in Ethiopia, “strongly condemned the attack on an NGO vehicle in Gambella region on 5 September 2019, which resulted in the killing of two aid workers.”
The deceased aid workers were killed while supporting a stabilization center which provides emergency nutritional support for complicated cases of acute malnutrition in a refugee camp in the Gambella region.
“I strongly condemn any attack on humanitarian workers bringing much needed humanitarian assistance to people in need in Ethiopia,
He also stressed that attacks on aid workers “in clearly marked humanitarian aid vehicles constitute a violation of International Humanitarian Law.”
The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator also asked the Ethiopian government to secure the areas with humanitarian operations and ensure the safety of aid workers.
“I am confident that Ethiopian authorities will arrest and prosecute those responsible for the attack. I would like to express my deepest sympathies to the families, colleagues and friends of these brave and dedicated aid workers, who were selflessly committed to humanitarian work in Ethiopia,” Omamo said.