Aid agencies in Chad condemn the killing of Pascal Marlinge, Save the Children UK Country Director

ACTED, Air Serv, Care International, Catholic Relief Services, COOPI, Concern Worldwide, Christian Outreach Relief and Development, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Intersos, Jesuit Refugee Service, Oxfam International, Prodabo, Secadev, Solidarites, in Chad mourn the loss of Pascal Marlinge, the Country Director of Save the Children UK, who was killed on Thursday (May 1st) by bandits. Pascal was a leader in the humanitarian community in Chad; his tenacity, energy and dedication to the refugee and IDP populations in Chad was inspiring. His death is a tragedy. We send our heartfelt condolences to Pascal’s family and to Save the Children UK.
We condemn this unacceptable killing in the strongest possible terms. We call on the authorities to investigate the incident and take all the necessary measures to protect the civilian population – including humanitarian workers.
   
The deterioration of security in Chad has put the humanitarian operation, that brings life saving aid to a half million people in Chad, at dangerous risk.  Increased insecurity brings more undue suffering on civilians, who have already experienced an unacceptable amount of violence. This is not the first time that a humanitarian worker has been killed in Chad; in fact, this is the second murder in 4 weeks; Ramadan Djom, a driver of Save the Children UK was killed on April 4th.

As a result of the dramatic downturn in security, we were forced to suspend all of our non-lifesaving activities throughout eastern Chad for 48 hours.

Oxfam