“Those who knew her said she adored her two children, a two-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl," said Eloi Fillion, the head of the ICRC delegation in Abuja. “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.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has condemned "in the strongest terms" the tragic killing of its abducted colleague Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa.
The group also appealed to the armed group to immediately release a second ICRC midwife and another health-care worker taken in north-eastern Nigeria in March.
It emerged on Monday that Saifura Husseini Ahmed, one of the three abducted humanitarian workers was shot from behind by a member of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram, three weeks after the three health workers begged President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue them from captivity, saying Boko Haram had given them the “final warning”.
ICRC mourned Saifura’s killing, wondering what explanations would be made to her two-year-old son and five-year-old daughter.
“We are devastated by the murder of our colleague Saifura,” said Eloi Fillion, the head of the ICRC delegation in Abuja. “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.”
At the time of their abduction, Saifura and the other two — Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha, a nurse working in a UNICEF-supported centre — were providing essential antenatal care to communities in Rann, whose population has more than doubled after an influx of people fleeing violence.
“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,” said Fillion.
“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.”
FIllion described Saifura, 25, as 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.”
The ICRC said it would not comment on the identity of the women's abductors, their motives or the details surrounding Saifura's death.