Danish Refugee Council’s demining unit, Danish Demining Group (DDG), has lost two national employees in South Sudan.
12 April 2016 – Under tragic circumstances, two national Danish Demining Group (DDG) staff members were killed today in South Sudan. The two staff members have been identified and their families notified.
“It is with great sadness that we received the news this morning about the tragic deaths of two staff members in South Sudan. Our thoughts are with the family members and colleagues in South Sudan. On behalf of the Danish Refugee Council and the Danish Demining Group, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the families of our fallen colleagues, and to the entire South Sudan team,” said DDG Head Tammy Hall.
The DDG Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was travelling in the early morning from their base in Yei to their work location when the vehicle was ambushed and two of the team members were shot during the ensuing events. The remaining five team members were unharmed.
“Security is of primary importance in our operations, and we constantly evaluate the safety of all areas of operation. As always, this tragic incident will be analysed and shared with our local networks as part of our ongoing security measures to ensure the safety of our staff as we continue our work,” emphasized Ms. Hall.
DRC has been operational in South Sudan since 2005, with the overall objective of providing durable solutions for refugees, IDPs and returnees. DDG began working in South Sudan in 2006 in the area of Humanitarian Mine Action and in 2009, in the field of Armed Violence Reduction.
For more information, please contact:
Rickard Hartmann, Country Director, DRC/DDG, +211 (0)9 280 41402