The United Nations says that 2013 has been the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers across the globe, with 155 aid workers were killed, 171 were seriously wounded and another 134 were kidnapped.
In a report released to mark the World Humanitarian Day, the UN said that 2013 had seen a 66% increase on the previous year. Three-quarters of these attacks took place in five countries; Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Pakistan and Sudan.
See the full report here.
Louis Belanger, spokesperson for the UN on World Humanitarian Day, told Al Jazeera,
World Humanitarian Day, a tribute to humanitarian workers across the world, marks the anniversary of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003 which killed 22 people.
In a report released to mark the World Humanitarian Day, the UN said that 2013 had seen a 66% increase on the previous year. Three-quarters of these attacks took place in five countries; Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Pakistan and Sudan.
See the full report here.
Louis Belanger, spokesperson for the UN on World Humanitarian Day, told Al Jazeera,
"The reasons behind this increase in deaths can be explained by the facts that warring parties in several ongoing conflicts are simply ignoring the rules of war. This erosion of respect for the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law, at times leads to aid workers being deliberately targeted."UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon called the increase in attacks “an outrage”, adding “Too many people have died or suffered from deliberate attacks.”
World Humanitarian Day, a tribute to humanitarian workers across the world, marks the anniversary of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003 which killed 22 people.