HUMANITARIAN WORKERS HIT WITH RECORD ATTACKS IN 2025, UN REPORTS

Fri 21 August 2026:

The UN humanitarian office reported that aid workers experienced a record level of violent attacks last year, driven in part by the growing use of armed drones.

Figures from the Aid Worker Security Database, which tracks major incidents involving humanitarian staff, show that 907 aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2025.

Of this total, 350 were killed — a modest drop from the previous high of 387 deaths recorded in 2024.

UN ‌Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the level of violence “appalling” and urged states to respect the rules of war and hold perpetrators accountable.

“Serving others has become more dangerous than ever,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Humanitarian workers stand up for people in need. We must stand up for them.

The world must act: to respect the rules of war; ensure safe access; hold perpetrators accountable; provide sufficient resources.

We must #ActForHumanity–now.”@antonioguterres #WorldHumanitarianDay pic.twitter.com/XwOJFUSURe

— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) August 19, 2026

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the proliferation ⁠of cheap and adaptable armed drones in conflicts has ⁠increased the risks.

In March, drone attacks hit Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least three people including a French aid worker, while aid convoys in Sudan and Ukraine ⁠have been repeatedly hit.

Gaza was by far the most deadly place for aid workers in 2025, with 186 humanitarians ⁠killed there last year, the database showed, followed ⁠by Sudan.

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In a post on X, Ramiz Alakbarov, the humanitarian coordinator of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, said “humanitarian workers are not a target and humanitarian assistance must be fully facilitated.”

UNRWA’s former chief Philippe Lazzarini said earlier this year he was seeking a high-level panel to investigate ‌staff deaths.

Attacks on humanitarian workers are happening as funding for their work is increasingly being cut. In a statement, the European Commission said it would continue its donor obligations, adding “every aid worker killed is not only a personal tragedy; it is also a failure by the international community to uphold its most basic commitments.”

Bushra ‌Khalidi, global humanitarian policy lead at Oxfam, called for greater protections for aid workers, saying: “We’re witnessing an assault on humanitarian action itself.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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