23 killed so far this year. “Brutal Taliban Killings Anger Aid Community,” by Alison Raphael for OneWorld, August 15:
WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (OneWorld) – The fatal ambush of four humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan Wednesday has provoked a sharp response from the international aid community, including strong condemnation of the Taliban.
The deaths of Canadians Jackie Kirk and Shirley Case, American Nicole Dial, and their Afghan driver Mohammad Aimal brought the total death toll of aid workers in Afghanistan to 23 for this year, eight more than died in all of 2007, UNICEF pointed out in a letter of condolence.
The three women, all with long experience in aid delivery in global hot-spots, were on their way back to Kabul from Paktia Province, where they had been planning a project to assist children with disabilities.
The four worked for the New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC), which yesterday announced the suspension of its activities in Afghanistan, after 20 years of uninterrupted work in the country, while it “evaluates next steps.”
A Taliban spokesman called news agencies to take credit for the attack, claiming: “We don’t value their aid projects.”
Of course. Islamic purity trumps national development.