07370
June 20, 2007

Church aid worker shot dead in Darfur

by Ecumenical News International

GENEVA — A local staff member for the joint aid operation mounted in Sudan’s troubled western province of Darfur by the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International and Caritas Internationalis has been shot and killed.

ACT-Caritas employee Adam Adam was killed on his way home from work on June 17, ACT International said in a statement released by its Geneva office on June 19.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life of one of our local staff members, Mr. Adam Adam, in West Darfur. We extend our prayers, sympathy and support to his family,” said ACT International director John Nduna.

Sudan’s western Darfur province is experiencing a conflict between government-backed militias and rebel groups that has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people in recent years.

Adam was a guard and a pump operator at a water point in the Khamsa Degaig camp for internally displaced persons in Zalingei, West Darfur. He was also one of the local leaders in the camp.

Adam was ordered to stop by three unidentified men in civilian clothes on his way home from work. After refusing to stop, one of the three men shot him three times at point blank range. Adam died immediately.

Three women on their way to a water point witnessed the incident, and people in the camp tried to tackle the attackers, who then fired shots into the crowd, which dispersed. This allowed the gunmen to escape.

The killing of Adam follows a spate of attacks in the camps around Zalingei, ACT International noted. Since the beginning of June, five camp residents have been shot and killed, huts have been set on fire, people have been beaten, and women have been, and are being assaulted almost daily. Hijackings of vehicles belonging to the U.N. and other international organizations are also continuing.

Aid agency Oxfam announced earlier in June that because of security concerns it is to withdraw from Darfur’s largest camp, where more than 130,000 people have sought refuge from violence. “Without action and assurances from those in control, we cannot operate in areas that have proven to be so extremely unsafe for our staff,” said Caroline Nursey, Oxfam’s Sudan program manager.