Aid workers under fire as drones reshape warfare
Baku, August 20, AZERTAC
The UN is warning that aid workers face a deadly and evolving threat, with armed drones reshaping battlefields worldwide – putting humanitarian teams increasingly in the line of fire, according to the UN.
In a stark new assessment, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) marked World Humanitarian Day on Wednesday warning that 907 aid workers were victims of violence last year simply going about their lifesaving work in the face of increasing danger in conflict zones.
Fatalities fell in 2025 but remained historically high, with 350 humanitarian staff killed – the second-highest toll ever recorded.
The wider pattern of violence has shown no sign of easing this year, with another 322 aid workers injured and 235 kidnapped so far, according to the Humanitarian Outcomes’ Aid Worker Security Database, which is funded by the Australian and Canadian Governments.
In his message for the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres honored aid workers worldwide, who face threats, arrest and detention.
“Disinformation is eroding trust. Humanitarian funding is being cut. And humanitarian access is being restricted,” he said, calling on Member States to stand up for them as they stand up for the millions who rely on their assistance across the world.
Addressing a commemoration marking the 23rd anniversary of the bombing of the UN's headquarters in Baghdad on Wednesday morning in New York, Mr. Guterres said it had been a terrible day that saw 22 colleagues killed by a massive truck bomb.
In honor of those killed in the Iraqi capital and to all others who have made the ultimate sacrifice, he said all staff need to carry forward their example and uphold the values which they all lived by.
Despite the declaration of a ceasefire last October, Gaza remained the deadliest context for aid workers in 2025, for the third consecutive year, with 186 killed, 68 per cent by aerial bombardment.
In Sudan, continued intense conflict drove up fatalities for the fifth year in a row, with a record 71 aid workers killed, mostly from small arms fire.
Other high-insecurity contexts in 2025 included Ukraine, Ethiopia, Syria, Haiti, Chad and Cameroon, where the most common forms of violence were kidnappings and aerial bombardment.
So far in 2026, 82 aid workers have been killed, 97 injured and 39 kidnapped around the world.
“More than 1,000 aid workers have been killed in just three years and that is utterly unacceptable,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
“But just calling it out will not protect the next aid worker. States must uphold international humanitarian law and use every tool to protect civilians and our colleagues. And for those who break the rules, there must be real consequences”, he added.
Humanitarian organizations are also confronting a rapidly changing battlefield, where cheap and adaptable armed drones are putting lethal capabilities into more hands and allowing explosive attacks to reach deeper into towns and cities.
In Sudan, armed drones were responsible for 80 per cent of civilian deaths in the first four months of 2026, striking places including markets and health facilities, according to OCHA.
In Ukraine, drones killed 80 civilians in April this year alone.
In Colombia, attacks involving weaponized drones quadrupled between 2024 and 2025.
Aid workers are increasingly being caught in the same threat. Health and aid workers are increasingly targeted. The World Health Organization, WHO, has recorded 639 attacks on healthcare this year already.
In March, an aid worker was killed when a drone struck a residential building in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Ukraine, four humanitarian convoys were hit by attacks in a single week in May.
“Weaponised drones have become the new face of an old danger: the deliberate or reckless destruction of civilian life,” Mr. Fletcher said.
“The technology may change, but the laws of war do not.”
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