Boko Haram kills another aid worker in Nigeria
ISL A MIC State-a l l ied Boko Hara m ji had i st s have k i l led a not her k idnapped female aid worker in northeast Nigeria, t he government said, a month after one of her colleagues was murdered.
Three female health workers were kidnapped during a Boko Haram raid on the remote town of Rann, in Borno state, on March 1 that killed three other aid workers and eight Nigerian soldiers.
Two of the kidnapped women, Hauwa Liman and Saifura Khorsa, worked for the International Commit- tee of the Red Cross (ICRC), while the third, Alice Loksha, worked for the UN children’s agency, Unicef.
There had been no news of the trio until last month when the ICRC said it had received footage of Khorsa’s killing from the IS-backed Boko Haram faction Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The ICRC last weekend appealed for the captives’ release and for the jihadists to show mercy, as they were “doing nothing but helping communities” in the conflict-riven region.
But Nigeria’s Information Minister Lai Mohammed announced the latest death as a deadline expired.
He did not initially identify the victim but later added in a tweet that he “commiserated with the family of Hauwa Liman”.
The ICRC said it did not have official confirmation.
Mohammed said: “It is ver y unfortunate t hat it has come to t his. Before and after the deadline issued by her abductors, t he federa l gover nment did ever y thing any responsible gov- er nment shou ld do to save t he a id worker.
“We are deeply pained by this killing, just like we were by the recent killing of the first aid worker.
“However, we will keep the negotiations open and continue to work to free the innocent women who remain in the custody of their abductors.”
Boko Haram has used kidnapping as a weapon of war during the conflict, abducting thousands of women and girls, and forcing young men and boys to fight in their ranks.