Via allAfrica.com, an editorial in Daily Trust: Korean Doctors' Murder in Yobe. Excerpt:
The shock and outrage that greeted the killing of nine female immunization workers in Kano last Friday week was yet to subside when news broke of another brutal attack in Yobe State.
This one involved the slaying of three North Korean medical doctors, whose residence in Potiskum, Yobe's second city, was infiltrated by gunmen that the authorities, to date, are yet to identify.
News accounts said that the expatriates had their throats slit at their home; one was beheaded. Their bodies bore machete wounds, according to some soldiers who arrived at the scene hours later.
Their names were given as Dr Kim Myong Hak, Dr Jong Myong Zum, and Dr Pak Thee Jong.
The men had been employed by the Yobe State government and deployed to the state's Hospitals Management Board. According to reports, the gruesome conduct took place over several hours and in the presence of the deceased's wives who were unhurt.
From statements by officials of the Yobe State government and the Hospitals Management Board, it has been established that the house had no security guards.
Like the Kano incident, this attack will certainly have the effect, at least in the near term, of putting a chilling effect on the morale of health workers who may consider it unsafe to be on duty.
That scenario could precipitate a serious public health problem, not only in Yobe State, but in the entire North East region.
