Boko haram: Armed group associated with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has killed one of six aid workers it abducted in Northeast Nigeria.
Six Nigerian Aid workers, a woman and five men, were captured in July by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
However, the abduction was during an ambush on their convoy close to the border of Nigeria with Niger Republic.
However, the statement did not give details of the identity of the victim.
Meanwhile, Action Against Hunger has totally condemned this assassination and urgently calls for the release of the hostages.
Furthermore, the charity said it was “extremely concerned and is fully mobilised to ensure that the remaining hostages can be quickly and safely reunited with their families”.
ISWAP released a video following the abduction. The video shows a female charity member pleading for the release of the hostages, with her five male colleagues behind her.
The kidnapping was the latest to target aid workers in the conflict-hit region. This came after the abduction and the killing of two women working for the International Committee of the Red Cross last year.
It should ve noted that ISWAP is a splinter faction of Boko Haram that swore allegiance in 2016 to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
It has repeatedly attacked military bases and targeted aid workers in northeast Nigeria.
Following this development, the International aid agency, Mercy Corps said on Wednesday it suspended operations in two northeast Nigerian states. The two states are the worst-hit by the armed groups after the Nigerian army closed four of its offices in the region.
“Mercy Corps is suspending operations in Borno and Yobe states following the closure of four of our field offices by the Nigerian military,” Amy Fairbairn, its head of media and communications, said in a statement.
“We have not yet received an official reason from the Nigerian authorities for the closure. And we are seeking to work with them to resolve this as soon as possible,” said Fairbairn, adding Mercy Corps’ work in other parts of Nigeria would continue.
Nevertheless, the Nigerian army has accused humanitarian organisations of working with armed groups.
In December 2018, it suspended UNICEF from operating in the northeast over claims that UNICEF was training “spies” who were supporting Boko Haram. But the ban was lifted later the same day after a meeting with the aid agency.
However, the United Nations says that 7.1 million people in the North East region need assistance in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
It should be noted that Northeast Nigeria has been ravaged by a decade-long civil war led by the armed group – Boko Haram.
Boko Haram has killed over 30,000 people and forced two million to flee their homes.
Source : Aljazeera news
