Afghanistan: Et brutalt og meningsløst angreb
Ban sends condolences to countries whose citizens died
in Afghan attack
2 April 2011 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today
spoke by telephone to senior officials of the governments of Nepal,
Norway, Sweden and Romania to express his deep condolences
following the deaths of their citizens in the attack on the United
Nations compound in northern Afghanistan yesterday.
Mr. Ban thanked the Prime Minister of Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal,
and the foreign ministers of the three European countries for their
citizens'' sacrifice in the service of the UN and humanity.
He said the thoughts of all at the United Nations were with the
families of those killed and wounded in the "appalling attack on
those seeking to help the Afghan people."
Earlier the Secretary-General spoke by telephone with the
President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai and expressed his sadness and
shock to the head of State at the attack on the UN offices in the
city of Mazar-i-Sharif that resulted in the death of three UN staff
and four Nepalese security guards.
Mr. Ban thanked Mr. Karzai for his expression of condolence and
for the support he is extending to the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, and to
the UN family in Afghanistan to ensure the safety and security of
UN staff.
The Secretary-General said he had dispatched his Chef de Cabinet
Vijay Nambiar and Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security
Gregory Starr to Afghanistan to review the security situation.
Mr. Ban told Mr. Karzai that he would continue to work with the
Alliance of Civilizations to promote tolerance for all
faiths.
The Secretary-General and the Security Council strongly
condemned yesterday''s attack in which a large crowd of
demonstrators angry at the burning of a copy of the Koran by a
United States group stormed a the UN compound and killed the UN
staff and the Nepalese Gurkha soldiers serving as guards at the
operations centre.
The attack took place about 4:30 p.m. at an operations centre
for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in
Mazar-i-Sharif.
An unconfirmed number of Afghan demonstrators were killed. Many
staff were also wounded, including the head of UNAMA''s office in
Mazar-i-Sharif.
Alain Le Roy, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations, told reporters yesterday that the demonstration was one
of several held across Afghanistan today in protest at last
month''s burning of a Koran by a Christian group based in the state
of Florida.
He said many of the demonstrators in Mazar-i-Sharif were armed
and, while the security guards tried their best, the crowd was so
large that they were soon outnumbered.
Mr. Ban described the attack as "outrageous and cowardly" and
said it "cannot be justified under any circumstances."
In a statement the Secretary-General said those killed "were
dedicated to the cause of peace in Afghanistan and to a better life
for all Afghans. These brave men and women were working in the best
tradition of the United Nations and gave their lives in the service
of humanity."
The Security Council issued a press statement in the wake of the
attack, with its 15 members condemning "all incitement to and acts
of violence" and expressing their deep condolences to the families
of the victims.
The Council called on Afghan authorities to take "all possible
steps" to protect UN personnel and premises, and to bring the
perpetrators of the attack to justice, according to the statement,
read out by Ambassador Nestor Osorio of Colombia, which holds the
rotating monthly presidency.
The President of the General Assembly, Joseph Deiss, said he had
learned of the attack in Afghanistan and the killing earlier this
week of a volunteer working for the UN Operation in Côte d''Ivoire
(ONUCI) with shock and deep sadness.
"The President of the General Assembly condemns in the strongest
terms these attacks, during which staff members and nationals were
killed and injured," said a statement issued by his
spokesperson.
Mr. Deiss reaffirmed the support of the General Assembly to
UNAMA and the people and Government of Afghanistan, as well to
ONUCI and the people and Government of Côte d''Ivoire. He expressed
his heartfelt condolences and sent his prayers to the families of
the victims.
Mr. McNorton told the UN News Centre that the attack would not
deter UNAMA from carrying out its work.
"We remain committed to supporting the Afghan people and to
ensuring that they are able to obtain a better life. We remain
committed to the cause of peace," he said.
Mr. McNorton said the brutal nature of the attack was
nevertheless being felt across the UN community in Afghanistan,
where UNAMA and many UN agencies operate.
Wounded members of staff were evacuated from Mazar-i-Sharif, but
Mr. Le Roy stressed that the UN would continue to have a presence
in the city.
Kilde: www.un.org
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