Aid worker killed, six missing as gunmen attack NGO convoy in Borno

One person has been killed and six others are missing after suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked a convoy of humanitarian workers in Borno State.

The attack on Action Against Hunger, an international nongovernmental organisation, happened on Thursday, but the details have just been made public.

A statement by the group on Friday said one of three drivers in a convoy conveying humanitarian workers was killed in the attack, while others went missing.

Shaswat Sharaf, the country director of the organisation, said in the statement that the aid workers were on their way to Damasak, a border community 157 km away from Maiduguri.

“One of the drivers was killed, while one Action Against Hunger staff member, two of the drivers and three health workers are missing,” he said.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident as these are colleagues dedicated to providing life-saving assistance to individuals and families affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the northeast of Nigeria.

“We are very concerned and want to ensure that they are safe and can be reunited with their families.”

Action Against Hunger has been actively involved in providing humanitarian services in the areas of nutrition and health, water sanitation and hygiene in most parts of the volatile northeast for quite some times now.

Borno State and neighbouring Yobe and Adamawa States have suffered a decade of attacks by Boko Haram, the terrorist group responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions of people.

Early July, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report that the conflict in the Lake Chad region is far from being over following the resurgence of attacks by the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) backed Boko Haram.

The attacks have continued despite the Nigerian government’s claim that it has defeated the group.

The insurgents have also targted aid workers in the region.

In March 2018, some UN aid workers were killed in a night attack by Boko Haram insurgents in Rann community in Kala Balge Local Government of Borno.

Three female Red Cross workers were abducted in 2018 and one of them was later shot dead by the group.