NGOs Condemn Killing of 5 Aid Workers in Nigeria's Borno by Boko Haram

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2020) Action Against Hunger (ACF) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) condemned on Thursday the execution of five aid workers, two of whom are their staffers, by Boko Haram insurgents in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno.

According to Nigerian online newspaper Premium Times, the jihadi group, an affiliate of the Islamic State terror organization (banned in Russia), released a video of executions on Wednesday.

"It is with deep sadness that we confirm the murder of Ishaku Yakubu, an employee of Action Against Hunger based in Monguno, and four other humanitarian workers who had been taken hostage by a non-state armed group in northeastern Nigerian state of Borno on June 8, 2020," the ACF statement read.

The IRC aid organization has also confirmed in a separate statement that one of the executed was its employee.

"The IRC strongly condemns the senseless execution of our colleague, Luka Filibus, and his fellow humanitarian captives," it said.

The IRC also demanded the return of its deceased staffer's body and slammed targeting aid workers.

The Jihadi insurgency began in Nigeria in 2009 as an armed rebellion against Nigeria's government. The conflict continues on the basis of religious clashes between the country's Christian and Muslim communities, as well as the militants' power claims.