Sudan ranked second, with 71 aid workers killed during the year. Globally, 907 humanitarian workers were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2025, marking another record in violence against aid personnel, according to the Humanitarian Outcomes Aid Worker Security Database.

Although the annual death toll fell slightly to 350, the UN said the overall level of violence showed no sign of easing. Another 322 aid workers were injured and 235 were kidnapped.

“More than 1,000 aid workers have been killed in just three years and that is utterly unacceptable,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

Fletcher called on states to uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians and humanitarian workers, warning that those who violate the rules must face “real consequences.”

Violence has continued into 2026, with at least 82 aid workers killed, 97 injured and 39 kidnapped worldwide so far this year, according to OCHA.

The UN also warned that the spread of inexpensive and adaptable armed drones is creating growing risks for civilians and humanitarian personnel, particularly in urban areas.

Armed drones accounted for 80% of civilian deaths in Sudan during the first four months of 2026, striking locations including markets and health facilities. In Ukraine, drones killed 80 civilians in April alone, while attacks also killed civilians and damaged infrastructure in Russia. Drone attacks in Colombia quadrupled between 2024 and 2025.

Humanitarian workers have increasingly been caught in such attacks. A humanitarian worker was killed in a drone strike on a residential building in the Democratic Republic of Congo in March, while four humanitarian convoys were hit in Ukraine during a single week in May.

“Weaponized drones have become the new face of an old danger: the deliberate or reckless destruction of civilian life,” Fletcher said, stressing that while technology may change, “the laws of war do not.”

Source: Anadolu