Afghan Kidnapping: ACF Staff Abducted at Gunpoint

Two humanitarian aid workers for Action Against Hunger / ACF-USA were abducted Friday, July 18th at 1AM (local time). The kidnapping took place in the compound where the ACF team was sleeping. According to ACF knowledge, the two expatriates are alive.

The two kidnapped staff members, both French nationals, are part of a team of 250+ local and expatriate aid workers providing relief to Afghan communities at risk of acute malnutrition. They were kidnapped from the base in Nili (the capital of Daikondi Province), which is located in central Afghanistan, about 310 km from Kabul.

Action Against Hunger has suspended its current relief operations in Afghanistan, which last year benefitted more than 130,000 people. The organization’s primary concern at this point in time is securing the release of the two kidnapped staff members, and ensuring the ongoing safety of the rest of its team.

ACF in Afghanistan

Action Against Hunger/Action Contre la Faim (ACF) was originally founded in 1979 specifically to help Afghan refugees. In 1995, ACF launched its first relief operations within the country, starting in Kabul and Pansheer; it has continued to be one of the leading humanitarian aid organizations in Afghanistan to the present day.