Tehran/Beirut/Geneva, 30 March 2026: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is outraged by the killing of Dr. Somayeh Mir Abo Eshagh, a 44-year-old volunteer with the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) from Khansar in the Ishafan Province in central Iran. She tragically lost her life during airstrikes, while on duty, on 27 March. Just one month into the conflict, Dr. Somayeh is the second Iranian Red Crescent volunteer killed while saving lives.
Dr. Somayeh lost her life while carrying out a Red Crescent mission to provide humanitarian relief assistance and psychosocial support services to those in need. She had dedicated 22 years of volunteering for the IRCS intermittently. IFRC expresses its deepest condolences to her family, loved ones, and all colleagues at IRCS. We stand in solidarity with the Iranian Red Crescent Society and all humanitarian workers providing life-saving assistance in difficult and often dangerous conditions.
Once again, our network is mourning the loss of a colleague. Earlier this month in Iran, Hamidreza Jahanbakhsh, another Iranian Red Crescent Society volunteer, was killed during a search and rescue operation, also in the Ishafan province. Since the outbreak of the conflict, 17 IRCS colleagues have also been injured.
The Red Crescent emblem is an internationally recognized symbol of protection, humanity and neutrality; it is essential to respect it and uphold the safety of humanitarian personnel to ensure the delivery of impartial, life-saving assistance to people in need.
The killing of Soumaya, and any attack on humanitarians is unacceptable and must be condemned. We continue to call for the protection of humanitarian teams who risk everything to save lives - this is a moral and legal obligation.
In just the first three months of 2026, nine members of the IFRC network have lost their lives in the line of duty globally.
For more information: [email protected]
In Beirut:
Mey Al Sayegh, +961 761 744 68
In Geneva:
Tommaso Della Longa, +41 79 708 4367
