Red Cross driver shot dead in Ethiopia, IFRC says

The IFRC said an Ethiopian Red Cross ambulance driver was shot dead while transporting a patient in western Ethiopia.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Mulugeta Andualem was killed on Wednesday in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. It said armed individuals opened fire on the ambulance in a remote, high-risk area about 50 kilometres from Woreda.

The Geneva-based humanitarian network said humanitarian workers, ambulances and medical facilities must be protected, and called on all sides to allow health teams to reach people in need safely.

Benishangul-Gumuz is home to armed groups, some of which have joined the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, a coalition of anti-government armed groups.