Attacks on aid workers continue

A horrific attack on an aid convoy and a warehouse operated by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent near Aleppo killed 20 civilians (including a Red Crescent staff member) in September and deprived thousands of civilians of much-needed food and medical assistance. “We’re totally devastated by the deaths of so many people, including one of our colleagues, the director of our sub-branch, Omar Barakat,” said Syrian Arab Red Crescent President Abdulrahman Attar. “He was a committed and brave member of our family… working relentlessly to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.” While the attack garnered considerable media coverage and condemnation from world leaders as a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, attacks in other conflicts received less attention. In August, for example, the Movement mourned the death of Khalid Abdullah, a 65-year-old Red Crescent volunteer with the Yemen Red Crescent Society, who was shot in August while laying the groundwork to distribute food inside the city of Taiz. “With more than 30 years’ experience as a Yemen Red Crescent volunteer, Khalid brought a difference to the lives of many people,” said Fuad Al-Makhazy, the Yemen Red Crescent’s secretary general.