Hiiraan Online
Friday January 26, 2018
Mogadishu (HOL) -A Somali staff member with UNICEF shot dead one of the aid agency's foreign workers in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Friday.
The victim whose name and nationality have not yet been released was killed inside agency's compound in Wadajir district.
Reports say the deceased was the head chef in the compound.
The murderer reportedly escaped from the scene before the security forces the area could arrive.
Sources say African Union troops who man the base near the UNICEF headquarters reached the scene where the first on the scene.
Aid workers and journalists have often been kidnapped in Somalia, although kidnappings have become less frequent in recent years.
In 2016, 158 major attacks against aid operations occurred, in which 101 aid workers were killed, 98 wounded and 89 kidnapped. The number of attacks and victims increased only slightly from 2015.
According to the 2017 Report on aid worker security, most aid worker attacks are perpetrated by ‘national-level’ non-state armed groups (NSAGs) seeking control of the state
Neither Somali government nor UNICEF has commented on the incident, nor has any group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
