‘We are devastated’ — Red Cross asks Boko Haram to free its remaining colleagues

The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) has condemned the killing of Saifura Khorsa, a midwife and one of its abducted staff.

TheCable had reported how the victim was shot by insurgents who captured her five months ago.

In a statement on Monday, Red Cross appealed to the abductors to immediately release another ICRC midwife and an healthcare worker still in captivity.

Khorsa, Hauwa Liman, a midwife and Alice Loksha, a nurse working in a UNICEF-supported centre, were reportedly providing essential antenatal care to communities in Rann, Borno state,  before their abduction.

The victims were kidnapped after members of the Boko Haram sect attacked the town on March 1.

Eloi Fillion, head of the ICRC delegation in Abuja, said: “We are devastated by the murder of our colleague Saifura.

“Saifura moved to Rann to selflessly help those in need. Our thoughts are with her family and other loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.

“We urge those still holding our colleague Hauwa and Alice: release these women. Like Saifura, they are not part of the fight. They are a midwife and a nurse. They are daughters, a wife, and a mother – women with families that depend on them.

“Their families and friends miss them dearly and will not give up the hope of seeing them again soon. There is no ideology or religious law that could justify doing any harm to them

“Saifura, 25, was a devoted mother and midwife. Those who knew her said she adored her two children, a two-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. The children have not been able to comprehend their mother’s absence, as they frequently asked their grandmother if a passing plane was bringing their mother home. That grandmother must now find the words to tell two children their mother will never return.”