Two UN staff members safely return after deadly incident in Ethiopia

[News_Editor]

Two UN staff members safely return after deadly incident in Ethiopia

2011-07-01 00:12:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Thursday announced that two of its staff members safely returned after being missing following a deadly incident in Ethiopia.

On May 13, the two staff members went missing after an incident in Ethiopia's Somali Region. The convoy in which they were travelling was attacked by assailants while on a monitoring mission.

The two WFP workers were brought to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where they are being reunited with their families. The two individuals are also receiving medical treatment and stress counseling.

One member of the convoy was killed in the attack, and another staff member was injured. Farhan Hamsa, who worked as a WFP driver, died during the ambush. This was the second deadly attack on a WFP humanitarian worker in less than a month.

On April 22, WFP Senior Program Assistant, Santino Pigga Alex Wani, was killed in an ambush in Southern Sudan. Santino was on a mission in Jonglei State when unknown individuals attacked the vehicle in which he was traveling.

The WFP has long been active in the Horn of Africa region and currently provides food assistance to 4.5 million people in Ethiopia, including refugees and school children in highly food insecure areas.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-01