Signal Alert reports

Since the beginning of the year, 25 aid workers have been killed in Sudan, putting 2024 on track to be the deadliest year for aid workers in Sudan ever recorded. Kidnappings/abductions have also already surpassed the number recorded in 2023. Almost all the reported abductions have been perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and Darfur.

At the same time, there is evidence that aid workers are being deliberately targeted as well as being affected by collateral violence. For example, out of attacks where the location is recorded, the data shows a significant increase in attacks on project sites and offices.

Since October 7, 2023, the AWSD has recorded 39 aid worker fatalities, 18 wounded, and 1 kidnapping in the Gaza Strip and Israel, affecting personnel of the UN, Palestinian Red Crescent, NNGOs and INGO supported hospitals. The October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent bombing campaign of Gaza have caused the death of 39 aid workers among thousands of other civilians. In all, 57 aid worker victims were reported as of October 23 including 4 killed by gunfire, 1 kidnapped, 35 killed in airstrikes, and an additional 18 injured in those strikes.

Abductions of aid workers in Mali has increased significantly over the last 6 years. Abduction incidents have been reported in 6 out of 10 regions in Mali during the period, with 57% of incidents occurring in the region of Mopti, an epicenter of civil violence.

Le nombre d’enlèvements de travailleurs humanitaires au Mali a augmenté significativement ces 6 dernières années. Des incidents d’enlèvement ont été signalés dans 6 des 10 régions du Mali au cours de cette période. 57 % des incidents ont eu lieu dans la région de Mopti, un épicentre de la violence civile.

Violent attacks on aid workers in the Al Hol refugee camp have increased significantly since 2020, accounting for 72% of all attacks in camp settings globally so far this year (AWSD). Life-saving humanitarian services have been dramatically curtailed as a result.

ازدادت الهجمات العنيفة على عاملي الإغاثة في مخيم الهول للاجئين بشكل ملحوظ منذ عام 2020، وتمثل 72% من جميع الهجمات في المخيمات على مستوى العالم حتى الآن هذا العام (وفقاً لقاعدة بيانات أمن عاملي الإغاثة (AWSD)). وانخفضت نتيجة لذلك الخدمات الإنسانية المنقذة للحياة بشكل كبير.

An increase in violence against aid workers in 2021 reflects the continuing instability following the February coup, with the direct targeting of aid workers and violent detentions significantly altering the risk environment for aid operations.

After a relative dip in 2020, the number of aid workers affected by major violence in Afghanistan spiked in June 2021, when US troop withdrawals met with a major military push by the Taliban to seize control of the country.

After a two-year decline in fatal attacks against aid workers in South Sudan, killings increased sharply in 2020 and continue at a level not seen since 2016-2017, at a high point of fighting in the civil war.