Breaking - Aid Worker Killed in Somalia

by Michael Bear · 2008-11-09 12:21:00 UTC
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Yesterday gunmen killed Mohamud Mohamed Osman, a program officer for Mercy Corps in southern Somalia.

To read the Mercy Corps statement, see here.

Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for aid workers.

Since this January, 33 humanitarian staff have been killed in Somalia, the vast majority of them Somali nationals.

A new report by Amnesty International - Fatal Insecurity: Attacks on Aid Workers and Rights Defenders in Somalia - also includes the number of Somali human rights activists killed this year, in addition to humanitarian fatalities.  Amnesty estimates that at least 40 Somali human rights activists and humanitarian staff were killed between January and September alone.

Kidnapping is also a major threat. Just last week, four aid workers and two pilots were kidnapped when gunmen stormed an airfield.  There are rumors that they have since been taken to Mogadishu.

These attacks against aid workers make it almost impossible to deliver assistance to those most in need.  According to an aid worker quoted in the Amnesty report:

“We are not able to start new programmes because our staff can’t go in. There is acute malnutrition in Mogadishu, but we’re not able to respond quickly enough, we have to work by remote control, and quality suffers.”

[For more information on how insecurity impacts aid agency operations, see here.]

Overall, the UN estimates that 3.25 million Somalis - roughly 43% of the population - currently require food aid.  Fighting has forced a total of 1.1 million Somalis to flee their homes, including 870,000 who've fled over the last two years alone.

Finally, our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Osman's family and colleagues.  To learn more about Mercy Corps' activities in Somalia, see here.

[Funeral for an aid worker killed in Somalia earlier this year - Photo from NYT / AFP ]

Michael Bear
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