Around midnight on April 6, Fadi Fadel,
who works for the International Rescue Committee in Najaf, was taken from
the IRC staff residence by members of a local militia.
He has since been incorrectly identified
in media reports as an Arab Israeli.
Mr. Fadel, 33, is a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who manages a UNICEF-funded program that provides humanitarian assistance for vulnerable children and youth in southern Iraq. These activities have included the rehabilitation of a youth center in Al Ansar, the distribution of wheelchairs to injured children in Najaf and support to local schools.
Mr. Fadel is a committed humanitarian aid worker who is in Iraq solely to assist conflict-affected Iraqi communities. On humanitarian grounds, we appeal to his captors to release him unharmed.