The United Nations suffered on Monday the loss of two of its international consultants, gunned down in northern Somalia.
The pair were a British and a French national working for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime who had just arrived in Galkayo — where aid worker kidnappings have been rampant in the past — when the attack happened. One of them died immediately after the shooting on the airstrip, while the other succumbed to gunshot wounds at a nearby hospital.
The chief of UNODC, the U.N. Security Council and British Foreign Secretary William Hague all condemned the attack and demanded Somali authorities launch an investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
It's still unclear who was behind the incident, or the motive, but some reports suspect a deranged policeman and others militants from al-Shabaab, which is currently dealing with an offensive carried out by U.N.-backed African Union and Somali forces. The militant group linked to al-Qaida controls a huge portion of the country, hampering humanitarian and development work in the areas it controls.
Al-Shabaab has kicked out a number of international aid organizations from its strongholds over the past few years, spearheaded several attacks against United Nations facilities and staff, the most recent a suicide assault against a U.N. humanitarian aid convoy just two months ago.
Somalia is one of the most dangerous places for aid workers. Afghanistan recorded more attacks in 2012, but Somalia had the highest “attack rate” given the very low number of aid workers in the country, according to the latest Humanitarian Outcomes' Aid Worker Security Report.
A spokesman for al-Shabaab did not confirm — nor deny — it was behind the latest incident, but urged "all Somalis to target the United Nations,” while UNODC has yet to release a statement on whether it plans to suspend activities in the region following the attack.
Is the international community's military offensive affecting aid organizations' work in Somalia? How can donors and aid agencies work to reduce such security threats on their staff, which also often hamper their work? Please share us your thoughts by leaving a comment below, joining our LinkedIn discussion or sending an email to news@devex.com.
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About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.