Aid workers under fire as drones reshape warfare

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN is warning that aid workers face a deadly and evolving threat, with armed drones reshaping battlefields worldwide – putting humanitarian teams increasingly in the line of fire.

In a stark new assessment, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) marked World Humanitarian Day on Wednesday warning that 907 aid workers were victims of violence last year simply going about their lifesaving work in the face of increasing danger in conflict zones.

Fatalities fell in 2025 but remained historically high, with 350 humanitarian staff killed – the second-highest toll ever recorded.

The wider pattern of violence has shown no sign of easing this year, with another 322 aid workers injured and 235 kidnapped so far, according to the Humanitarian Outcomes’ Aid Worker Security Database, which is funded by the Australian and Canadian Governments.

In his message for the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres honoured aid workers worldwide, who face threats, arrest and detention.

 “Disinformation is eroding trust. Humanitarian funding is being cut. And humanitarian access is being restricted,” he said, calling on Member States to stand up for them as they stand up for the millions who rely on their assistance across the world.  

Gaza still deadliest

Despite the declaration of a ceasefire last October, Gaza remained the deadliest context for aid workers in 2025, for the third consecutive year, with 186 killed, 68 per cent by aerial bombardment. 

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In Sudan, continued intense conflict drove up fatalities for the fifth year in a row, with a record 71 aid workers killed, mostly from small arms fire. 

Other high-insecurity contexts in 2025 included Ukraine, Ethiopia, Syria, Haiti, Chad and Cameroon, where the most common forms of violence were kidnappings and aerial bombardment.

So far in 2026, 82 aid workers have been killed, 97 injured and 39 kidnapped around the world.

“More than 1,000 aid workers have been killed in just three years and that is utterly unacceptable,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

“But just calling it out will not protect the next aid worker. States must uphold international humanitarian law and use every tool to protect civilians and our colleagues. And for those who break the rules, there must be real consequences”, he added. 

Death from the sky

Humanitarian organisations are also confronting a rapidly changing battlefield, where cheap and adaptable armed drones are putting lethal capabilities into more hands and allowing explosive attacks to reach deeper into towns and cities.

In Sudan, armed drones were responsible for 80 per cent of civilian deaths in the first four months of 2026, striking places including markets and health facilities, according to OCHA.

In Ukraine, drones killed 80 civilians in April this year alone. In Russia, drone attacks have also killed civilians and damaged civilian infrastructure. 

In Colombia, attacks involving weaponised drones quadrupled between 2024 and 2025.

Aid workers are increasingly being caught in the same threat. Health and aid workers are increasingly targeted. The World Health Organization, WHO, has recorded 639 attacks on healthcare this year already.

In March, an aid worker was killed when a drone struck a residential building in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Ukraine, four humanitarian convoys were hit by attacks in a single week in May.

“Weaponised drones have become the new face of an old danger: the deliberate or reckless destruction of civilian life,” Mr. Fletcher said.

“The technology may change, but the laws of war do not.”

DR Congo: ‘I have to stay’

This year’s World Humanitarian Day campaign, Act for Humanity, puts a focus on the people behind the statistics.

Through interviews with relatives, the campaign tells the stories of aid workers who were killed while helping others, and of the families left behind.

Emmanuel Madragule, a humanitarian driver with more than two decades of experience, survived an armed-group attack during a field mission in eastern DR Congo in June 2024. 

Despite the danger, he returned to the field, driven by his commitment to helping communities in crisis. “I cannot leave my colleagues like this. I have to stay with my colleagues,” he told UN News.

His motivation comes partly from personal experience: in 2008, humanitarian workers saved his uncle’s life after he was shot. His story highlights the growing risks and sacrifices faced by humanitarian workers in DRC.

Call for protection

International humanitarian law requires parties to armed conflicts to protect civilians and respect the humanitarian personnel working to assist them.

Humanitarian organizations are working to reach 87 million people facing the most severe needs around the world this year.

Remembering the Canal Hotel

The international day is observed every year on 19 August, marking the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq. 

Twenty-two UN staffers died, including the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Five years later, the UN General Assembly designated 19 August World Humanitarian Day. This year, the UN is urging those with power to #ActForHumanity.