Democratic Republic Of Congo
Two Congolese aid workers were killed and a third abducted by an unidentified armed group in the troubled North Kivu province of Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said Monday.
“We lost two fellow aid workers killed in the line of duty by unidentified armed people,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said in a statement.
The three men were employed by the Congolese NGO Hydraulique Sans Frontieres (HYFRO), which specialises in water purification projects, when attacked on Saturday near the village of Mushikiri.
Ocha said it “strongly condemns this latest attack” and called for “the immediate and unconditional release of the person held hostage”.
Aid workers “should never be targeted. This attack represents a serious violation of international humanitarian law and emergency standards,” it said.
According to Ocha, security conditions are very worrying in North Kivu and represent a “major obstacle” to the work of humanitarians.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said the situation in North Kivu was “worrying” adding that it represented a “major obstacle of the delivery of humanitarian assistance to thousands of people in need.”
Kidnappings, including of foreign and Congolese personnel of humanitarian organisations, are frequent in the territories of Masisi, Lubero, Rutshuru and Walikale in the province of North Kivu.
Eastern DR Congo is torn apart by more than 20 years of armed conflict, fueled by ethnic and land disputes, competition for control of the region’s mineral resources, and rivalry between regional powers.
AFP
01:55
US contractors say colleagues fired live ammunition at Palestinians seeking food
01:00
Pix of the Day: July 3, 2025
01:22
World will have to learn to live with heatwaves, UN says
01:39
Sustainable development financing conference opens in Seville
02:10
Congo-Rwanda deal: Uncertainty over whether the hostilities will end
00:54
African Human Rights court says it can hear case brought by DRC against Rwanda