Two Red Cross workers have been reportedly killed on Wednesday when their car was attacked by unidentified armed men in western Mali.
According to a statement by the Malian Red Cross, armed men on motorcycles opened fire on the vehicle in the region of Kayes.
It was gathered that the driver, who was Malian, and a staff member of the Netherlands Red Cross were killed, it said, while two colleagues survived the attack.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement said in a separate statement that the area where the team was driving was considered relatively safe, although large swathes of the West African country are overrun by Islamist militants.
“The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is deeply concerned about the worsening security situation in the Sahel region,” the statement said. “This violence, and the specific targeting of humanitarian workers, makes it hard for Red Cross teams to provide the needed assistance to vulnerable communities in the region.”
