The staff – Mr. Nicodeme Dabou and Mr. Moctar Samake - were returning from a successful distribution in Goundam, south of Timbuktu, where 3,792 Malians – people who had been displaced by the conflict – received kits to rehabilitate homes destroyed over the course of the conflict.
“The sudden, terrible loss of Nicodeme and Moctar has been a huge blow to family and friends, and to those of us who knew them.” said Frantz Mesidor, Country Director for NRC Mali and Burkina Faso. “We have been overwhelmed by the support of our peers, both in Mali and throughout the world. It is a comfort to know that our colleagues will be remembered.”
Funerals for both Mr. Dabou and Mr. Samake took place in recent days.
In the aftermath of the accident, NRC Mali operations in Timbuktu region are temporarily suspended, and staff are receiving support and time to recover from the shock. NRC teams in Gao, Mopti and Bamako have resumed their work to ensure that Malians affected by displacement continue to receive the assistance that they require.
Investigations into the details of this event are ongoing and NRC looks to the government of Mali to do everything possible to shed light on the circumstances surrounding these deaths and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“This is a tragic loss for the entire international NRC-family. This is a reminder of the risks facing humanitarian workers coming to the relief of civilians in contemporary conflicts," says Secretary General Jan Egeland.
