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In the news: Three aid workers killed in Syria

Since the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, 238 aid workers have been killed in the country.

A Syrian army soldier stands on a roof near a street sign that was written by rebels in the streets of Maarat al-Numan, the town taken this week by government forces. Yamam Al Shaar/Reuters
A Syrian army soldier stands on a roof near a street sign that was written by rebels in the streets of Maarat al-Numan, the town taken this week by government forces.

Three Syrian aid workers have been killed in recent days – one in northwestern Idlib province, and two in the southwestern Dera’a area. 

On Wednesday, the UK wing of NGO Oxfam condemned the 19 February attack in Dera’a, saying that an “unidentified armed group” had killed two of its staff in a vehicle travelling between the towns of Nama and al-Yadudah.

Syria Relief, meanwhile, announced that an airstrike in Idlib had killed the manager of its primary healthcare centre in Maarat al-Nasan that had been out of service since an earlier bombing on 10 February. 

The aid worker deaths are the first in Syria in 2020, according to records gathered by the Aid Worker Security Database. Since the Syrian civil war began, 238 aid workers have been killed in the country. Syria accounted for a third of 379 deaths over the 2017-2019 period. 

For more on the latest situation in Syria, read our update: Aid efforts ‘overwhelmed’ by humanitarian ‘catastrophe’ in Idlib.

– Ben Parker

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