A “rocket propelled grenade” killed a local aid worker in Somalia on Thursday (Jan. 12). This brings the number of aid worker deaths in the country to six, all in less than a month.
The aid worker was identified as Abdikarin Hashi Kediye. He works with the Towfiq Development Organization, a local nongovernmental organization said to be a partner of the U.N. World Food Program. His driver, who also died in the incident, has not been named.
This is the third violent attack on aid workers in Somalia in recent weeks. In December, five aid workers — two from WFP, two from Médecins Sans Frontières and one from local NGO Doyale — were also shot and killed while on duty.
The incident is now under investigation, but the area where it happened is reportedly controlled by the Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, a militant group composed of moderate Sufis in Somalia opposed to the al-Shabab.
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