Not A Good Year So Far: Attacks Against Aid Workers Continue

by Michael Bear · 2009-02-04 03:47:00 UTC
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On Monday gunmen abducted a UN official in Quetta, Pakistan.  According to Reuters:

"John Solecki, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in the southwestern city of Quetta, was on his way to his office when gunmen intercepted his vehicle and opened fire, killing his driver.

'We strongly condemn this attack on humanitarian workers in Pakistan who have been doing their utmost to deliver their humanitarian mission,' the United Nations said in a statement."

Tragically, such news isn't much of a surprise.

One of the under-reported stories of 2008 was the increasing number of attacks against aid workers.  84 aid workers were killed in just four countries - Somalia, Afghanistan, Darfur and Chad - last year.  Other aid workers were killed in the Congo, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

So far, 2009 isn't shaping up to be much better.  Five UN staff, 4 UN contractors and at least one NGO aid worker have already been killed in Gaza, as well as two UN staff killed in Somalia.

If anything, the security situation in Somalia is worse than last year.  According to the Somalia NGO Safety and Preparedness Support Program, there were four direct security incidents against humanitarian agencies in January of last year, compared to nine direct incidents in January 2009.

Similarly, the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office Reports that in the past two weeks alone:

"NGO have been victimized in a number of serious incidents this period including an RPG attack in Takhar, an IED placed on a gate in Nangarhar and an office overrun in Kunar.  Criminal elements attending a vehicle checkpoint in Jawzjan 'asked for' an NGO by name and indicated a solid awareness of the NGO plans to disburse field payments in the area.  Threat letters were distributed in Herat (Injil) warning against involvement in NGO vocational training programs."

More about NGO security later today.  In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with John Solecki, his family, and the family of his driver.

[Pakistani police examine Solecki's vehicle - Photo from AP / New York Times]

Michael Bear
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