Since last December, the attacks have killed one foreign and six Afghan staff members of the ICRC, while three workers have been abducted. Last month, 38-year-old Spanish national, physiotherapist Lorena Enebral Perez, was fatally shot inside an ICRC rehabilitation centre by a patient in Balkh. “The ICRC has been directly targeted in northern Afghanistan,” said Monica Zanarelli, head of delegation for the ICRC in Afghanistan. A week before Perez’s killing last month, two local ICRC staff members were released after being held by an armed group for seven months. There are at least 120 international and 1,800 local staff members of the ICRC working in Afghanistan and the downsizing will include both national and international staff members, added Zanarelli.

Source: National Post October 09, 2017 08:39 UTC