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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said the murder of the second health worker held hostage in Nigeria is a despicable act of cruelty.
ICRC Regional Director for Africa, Patricia Danzi,said in a statement on Tuesday that “it’s utterly devastating” that the humanitarian organization had to write the sentence announcing the killing of Hauwa Mohammed Liman.
Hauwa is the second abducted health worker in Nigeria to be murdered in the last month.
“The news of Hauwa’s death has broken our hearts,” said Danzi. “We appealed for mercy and an end to such senseless murders. How can it be that two female health care workers were killed back-to-back? Nothing can justify this.”
Hauwa, was 24 and she became a midwife at an early age and was described as a “sociable, dynamic and enthusiastic woman who was much loved” by family and friends.
“She was truly dedicated to her work helping vulnerable women in her family’s home area,” added the statement.
Hauwa was abducted in an attack in the north-eastern town of Rann on March 1, together with Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa and Alice Loksha.
Saifura was deliberately killed on September 16, while Alice remains in captivity, along with Leah Sharibu, a 15-year-old student abducted by the group in a separate incident in February.
Hauwa and Saifura worked in a health-care centre supported by the ICRC while Alice worked in a centre supported by UNICEF.
The ICRC made sustained and committed efforts to secure the release of the three health-care workers, including a last-minute plea for mercy on Sunday to the Islamic State’s West African province group, to no avail.
“Hauwa and Saifura’s deaths are not only a tragedy for their families, but they will also be felt by thousands of people in Rann and other conflict-affected areas of north-east Nigeria where accessing health care remains a challenge. We urge the group holding Alice and Leah to release them safely,” said Danzi.
