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Ahmed Hussam (not his real name), 32, was shell-shocked after his colleagues were kidnapped on Sunday while on duty in the Iraqi Red Crescent Society’s (IRCS) office in the capital, Baghdad.
“I saw my colleagues being taken by kidnappers and the ones who remained couldn’t do anything to help them because the men were carrying guns and wearing police uniforms,” Hussam said.
“It is a tragedy for the aid community. IRCS has been the main aid agency helping Iraqis and yet it has been targeted many times and some volunteers have been killed over the past three years. Now, 25 men have been taken and we don’t know if they are going to be released alive,” he added.
On 17 December, armed men wearing commando-style uniforms stormed the IRCS office in Baghdad and kidnapped 30 men. Women were segregated and left alone. Reports suggest that six men, all elderly, have been released.
“I saw my colleagues being taken by kidnappers and the ones who remained couldn’t do anything to help them because the men were carrying guns and wearing police uniforms,” Hussam said.
“It is a tragedy for the aid community. IRCS has been the main aid agency helping Iraqis and yet it has been targeted many times and some volunteers have been killed over the past three years. Now, 25 men have been taken and we don’t know if they are going to be released alive,” he added.
On 17 December, armed men wearing commando-style uniforms stormed the IRCS office in Baghdad and kidnapped 30 men. Women were segregated and left alone. Reports suggest that six men, all elderly, have been released.
It is a tragedy for the aid community. IRCS has been the main aid agency helping Iraqis and yet it has been targeted many times and some volunteers have been killed over the past three years.
Ahmed Hussam, Iraqi Red Crescent Society
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Committee of the Red Crescent (ICRC) have called for the immediate release of the workers, saying the Iraqi Red Crescent provided vital help for those in need.
“We demand their unconditional and immediate release. They are clearly identified by the Red Crescent emblem and they are entitled to full protection under international humanitarian law,” Nada Doumani, the spokeswoman of the ICRC, told IRIN, without giving more details about any ongoing negotiations.
Doumani said that the ICRC has to remain neutral during conflicts and as such has a policy of working with all influential armed groups in any country so as to facilitate their humanitarian work on the ground and protect their employees. The ICRC has already been involved in negotiations with insurgent groups in Iraq before this latest incident, she said.
Grim picture of humanitarian situation
Doumani added that since the kidnapping no exceptional measures have been taken yet and that the ICRC would continue working in Iraq. “This [kidnapping] portrays the grim picture of the humanitarian situation in Iraq. This will make the work of these organisations very hard and will reflect on the services being offered to the Iraqi people," she said.
Most aid agencies pulled out of Iraq following the bombing of the United Nations compound in Baghdad in August 2003, in which 23 people were killed. With 1,000 staff members and 200,000 volunteers, the Iraqi Red Crescent is the only aid organisation extensively covering all of Iraq.
“We hope they [the kidnapped] are going to be released soon because we have a good reputation with Iraqis who respect us and trust us as a neutral organisation," Mazen Abdallah, secretary general of the Iraqi Red Crescent, said.
“Iraqi citizens and aid workers are facing a large gap between the legal protection they should enjoy and the violent reality on the ground. They face daily violations - such as abductions, executions, arbitrary detentions, attacks on aid convoys and a lack of respect for the principle of distinction between military and civilian people and objects,” Cedric Turlan, NCCI Information Officer, said.
Turlan said that at least 81 aid workers have been killed since 2003.
“More than ever aid workers who continue to work in Iraq on a daily basis to save lives are heroic. Legally, the sovereign Iraqi state is responsible for attempting to stem all violations of human rights,” Turlan said.
Turlan added that the Iraqi government should regulate and facilitate NGOs’ work and that the US-led Multinational Forces there should recognise NGOs’ presence and facilitate their access to vulnerable populations during military operations.
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“We demand their unconditional and immediate release. They are clearly identified by the Red Crescent emblem and they are entitled to full protection under international humanitarian law,” Nada Doumani, the spokeswoman of the ICRC, told IRIN, without giving more details about any ongoing negotiations.
Doumani said that the ICRC has to remain neutral during conflicts and as such has a policy of working with all influential armed groups in any country so as to facilitate their humanitarian work on the ground and protect their employees. The ICRC has already been involved in negotiations with insurgent groups in Iraq before this latest incident, she said.
Grim picture of humanitarian situation
Doumani added that since the kidnapping no exceptional measures have been taken yet and that the ICRC would continue working in Iraq. “This [kidnapping] portrays the grim picture of the humanitarian situation in Iraq. This will make the work of these organisations very hard and will reflect on the services being offered to the Iraqi people," she said.
Most aid agencies pulled out of Iraq following the bombing of the United Nations compound in Baghdad in August 2003, in which 23 people were killed. With 1,000 staff members and 200,000 volunteers, the Iraqi Red Crescent is the only aid organisation extensively covering all of Iraq.
“We hope they [the kidnapped] are going to be released soon because we have a good reputation with Iraqis who respect us and trust us as a neutral organisation," Mazen Abdallah, secretary general of the Iraqi Red Crescent, said.
Iraqi citizens and aid workers are facing a large gap between the legal protection they should enjoy and the violent reality on the ground… More than ever aid workers who continue to work in Iraq on a daily basis to save lives are heroic.
Cedric Turlan, NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq
“Iraqi citizens and aid workers are facing a large gap between the legal protection they should enjoy and the violent reality on the ground. They face daily violations - such as abductions, executions, arbitrary detentions, attacks on aid convoys and a lack of respect for the principle of distinction between military and civilian people and objects,” Cedric Turlan, NCCI Information Officer, said.
Turlan said that at least 81 aid workers have been killed since 2003.
“More than ever aid workers who continue to work in Iraq on a daily basis to save lives are heroic. Legally, the sovereign Iraqi state is responsible for attempting to stem all violations of human rights,” Turlan said.
Turlan added that the Iraqi government should regulate and facilitate NGOs’ work and that the US-led Multinational Forces there should recognise NGOs’ presence and facilitate their access to vulnerable populations during military operations.
as/sm/ar/ed
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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