ICRC: Will not stop work in Syria despite kidnap

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that it would not stop work in Syria despite the weekend kidnapping of its staff in the war-torn country. “We are completely committed to supporting the Syrian population in this difficult moment,” ICRC spokesperson Ewan Watson told Swiss public radio. “We don’t have any intention of stopping our activities in Syria, but of course this situation makes us reflect and take a close look at our operations because in the end, we will not be able to work and help the Syrian population without having security for our personnel,” he said. “We are worried that these types of incidents will prevent us from having as large of an access in the future and from carrying out our humanitarian work,” he said. Six ICRC workers along with a Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer were abducted by gunmen on Sunday as their convoy drove from the Idlib province back to Damascus. Watson did not identify the nationalities of the staff kidnapped, saying only that most of them were Syrian. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abduction. Kidnapping has become an increasing problem in Syria, with journalists and aid workers frequently targeted in rebel-held parts of the country, largely in the north.