UN Humanitarian Coordinator condemns fourth killing of aid worker in Somalia in under 40 days

Nairobi (22 October 2003) -- The United Nations (UN) Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator today condemned the murder of two British international aid workers, killed yesterday by unknown gunmen in Somalia.
The elderly aid workers, who were employed by the non-governmental organization SOS Kinderdorf International, were gunned down in their home in Sheikh, a town in the self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland in the northwestern region of the country.

"I am deeply shocked by their killing," said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mr. Maxwell Gaylard. "The deliberate targeting of aid workers threatens the lives not only of those who are trying help the Somali people, but the Somalis themselves, whose access to aid may be jeopardized if we can't do our work safely."

The death of the SOS workers bring to four the total number of international aid workers killed in the past 37 days, three of them in Somaliland. On 15 September 2003, Mr. Oyaw Abdiwahid, a Kenyan National employed by the Adventist Development Relief Agency, was brutally murdered while traveling to a project site in Dhamasa village in Gedo region. Subsequently, Italian aid worker Dr. Annalena Tonelli was shot at close range on 5 October 2003 on the grounds of a tuberculosis treatment center she founded in Borama in Somaliland.

The motive for the murders is under investigation by Somaliland authorities. While welcoming their efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice, Mr. Gaylard reiterated the need for the authorities to guarantee the safety and security of aid workers.

"We have a responsibility to assist those in need, and at the same time, those in positions of authority throughout Somaliland and Somalia have an international obligation to protect humanitarian aid and aid workers, and to ensure access to vulnerable people," said Mr. Gaylard, who is also the Designated Official for UN Security in Somalia.

For further information, please contact: Kitty McKinsey. Tel: +254 722 592 963