Sudan: ICRC staff member killed

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 21, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- A staff member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed in Al Fashir, Darfur, on 20 March. Najmaddin Salih Musa Bishara, a Sudanese national, was working as a warehouse storekeeper. He was hit by a stray bullet while on his way home from work in a private car accompanied by three others.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of our colleague Najmaddin Salih Musa Bishara”, said Jean-Christophe Sandoz, head of the ICRC in Sudan. “The exact circumstances remain unclear and we are in touch with the police investigating the case”.

In Sudan, ICRC staff have been providing life-saving humanitarian aid to people affected by armed conflict. “We call on all those who bear weapons to respect people working for the ICRC or for the broader International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement , and indeed everyone carrying out humanitarian work in Sudan”, Mr. Sandoz said.

This is the second time in little over a month that someone working for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Sudan has been killed. On 16 February, a Sudanese Red Crescent Society volunteer died in a landmine explosion in South Kordofan.