Oshima welcomes release of aid workers

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kenzo Oshima, on Friday welcomed the release of six aid workers kidnapped earlier this month in Burundi and stressed the need for “steps to protect relief personnel worldwide”. In a statement released in New York, Oshima expressed “profound relief” at Wednesday’s freeing of six staff members of the Dutch NGO, Memisa, who had been abducted by the rebel Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) and taken to Tanzania. Condemning the kidnapping, Oshima stressed that the humanitarian staff were delivering - “often at great risk to themselves” - much-needed assistance to the most vulnerable populations in Burundi. He called on all parties in Burundi and elsewhere, to “take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian personnel”.