Nigeria: 6 aid workers missing in Boko Haram attack

By Olarewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) - Six humanitarian aid workers are missing after terror group Boko Haram ambushed their vehicle in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria.

The driver of the vehicle is reported to have been killed while aid workers are suspected to have been kidnapped by the group pledging allegiance to Daesh, a statement issued by the Action Against Hunger (AAH), an international humanitarian organization, said on Friday.

Country Director of the AAH, Shashwat Saraf, said a convoy carrying humanitarian workers to Damasak, head town of the Mobbar local government area along the Lake Chad area, was ambushed by the Daesh affiliated group on Thursday.

"One of the drivers was killed, while one staff member, two drivers and three health workers are missing," he said.

He said the organization was deeply saddened by the attack on his colleagues, who are providing life-saving assistance to individuals and families, affected by the humanitarian crisis caused by a decade of Boko Haram violence in the region.

United Nations Humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said the humanitarian community in Nigeria was deeply disturbed by the incident.

Kallo said the continuous insecurity in the region has prevented aid workers from accessing many communities. He expressed concern at the safety of aid workers.

The attack, the third in two weeks, came a day after Boko Haram ambushed and killed four military personnel. A colonel, captain and two soldiers were feared dead in the ambush on a highway near the capital Abuja on Wednesday.