ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least four aid workers have been killed in various parts of Ethiopia in the first month of 2024, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has disclosed.
The UN agency said in an Ethiopia situation report published Thursday that the four aid workers, who were all Ethiopian nationals, were killed across three regions of Ethiopia.
Three were killed in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region, and another was killed in Ethiopia's western region of Gambella, it further said.
Noting the ongoing volatility in various parts of Ethiopia, UNOCHA stated since 2019, 46 aid workers have lost their lives in Ethiopia, of whom 36 are related to conflicts in northern Ethiopia.
"Humanitarian partners are not targeted by weapon bearers, however, the volatility of the security situation and the multiplicity of armed actors involved, including local militias and armed civilians, pose a high risk for aid personnel and relief operations," the UN agency further said.
UNOCHA pointed to armed clashes between security forces and non-state armed elements in the East African country's two most populous regions, Amhara and Oromia, as a contributing factor to the ongoing safety risk faced by aid workers. ■