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Red Cross worker killed, one injured in Mali attack

By Danielle Haynes
An International Committee of the Red Cross worker died Monday after the truck he was driving in Mali was attacked. Photo courtesy International Committee of the Red Cross
An International Committee of the Red Cross worker died Monday after the truck he was driving in Mali was attacked. Photo courtesy International Committee of the Red Cross

GAO, Mali, March 30 (UPI) -- Armed men attacked a Red Cross aid truck Monday in Mali, killing the driver and injuring a passenger, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

The driver was identified only as Hamadoun, who was an ICRC staff member. The passenger, whose name wasn't released, worked for the Mali Red Cross.

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"[Hamadoun] was driving a truck from Gao to Niamey, in neighboring Niger, to collect much-needed medical equipment for Gao hospital," said Yasmine Praz Dessimoz, head of ICRC operations for North and West Africa. "His death is not only a tragedy for his family and for the ICRC, it will affect the life and well-being of tens of thousands of people."

The details of the attack are unclear, but a news release by the ICRC said the truck was clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem.

"The humanitarian situation in northern Mali is worrying and our teams are working hard to support the local communities affected," Dessimoz said. "But the ICRC is concerned about the rise in violence against humanitarian workers, which is preventing them from coming to the aid of individuals and communities in dire need."

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In addition to Hamadoun's death, there have been at least three aid workers killed in Mali this month.

Two Dutch peacekeepers working with the United Nations' Minusma mission died March 17 after the helicopter they were in crashed near Gao.

One other U.N. peacekeeper died March 8, along with two civilians, after rockets missed their intended targets and struck a U.N. base in the town of Kidal in northern Mali.

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