Two aid workers shot dead in Somalia

The second victim succumbed to his injuries while being treated at hospital [Reuters]

Two employees of the aid group Doctors Without Borders have been shot and killed in the Somali capital, though the international aid agency says it will continue to provide medical care in the country.

Philippe Havet, 53, from Belgium and Andrias Karel Keiluhu, 44, from Indonesia were shot by a disgruntled former employee of the agency, known by its French acronym MSF, during an incident on Thursday.

Havet was the country director of the group, while Keiluhu was a doctor.

“It is with great sadness that Medecins Sans Frontieres confirms that two MSF staff members were killed yesterday …
as a result of a shooting in the organisation’s compound,” the group said in a statement said on Friday. “MSF will be relocating some staff for security reasons, but remains committed to continuing our humanitarian work in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia.”

The group’s media office sent out a series of tweets as the attack was taking place.

In the last such attack on international aid workers in Somalia, three Somali aid workers were killed in the central Hiran region.

In mid-October, two Spaniards working for MSF were seized by armed men in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp, about 100km from the Somali border.

Suspect arrested

Ahmed Ali, a security guard for MSF, said the two were attacked by a Somali employee who was dismissed from his job running the groups’ logistics on Wednesday.

Somali security forces arrested the man, a witness told the AFP news agency. 

The first victim died shortly after the attack. The second victim was taken to a hospital for treatment, but succumbed to his wounds, doctors said.

“The second victim died at the hospital as doctors were trying to save him,” Dumiya Ali, deputy director of the Medina hospital, said.

Mogadishu remains one of the most dangerous locations for aid workers to operate in, with many groups not allowing international workers to stay in the capital for extended periods.

International aid workers face potential attacks from rebel fighters and kidnappings for ransom.

Such incidents are often blamed on the al-Shabab group, but it is unclear if they were responsible for Thursday’s attack.