October 31, 11

NEWS / Three UN refugee agency staff killed in Afghan suicide attack

31 October 2011 –
Three employees of the United Nations refugee agency were killed and two others wounded today when suicide bombers and gunmen carried out an attack near the world body’s compound in southern Afghanistan.

The “organized” attack happened at around 6 a.m. local time in Kandahar, according to a statement issued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

A car bomb was exploded at the gate of a local non-governmental organization (NGO) that shares a common wall with the UNHCR compound. When the wall collapsed, suicide attackers entered the UN premises. Three UN security guards were killed and two others were wounded. Two security contractors were killed as well.

“This is a tragedy for UNHCR and for the families of the dead and wounded. It also underscores the great risks for humanitarian workers in Afghanistan,” said High Commissioner António Guterres.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized that the work carried out by the UN and international aid workers is purely humanitarian. “Its sole purpose is to improve the daily lives of the country’s people,” he told reporters in New York.

UNHCR has been working in Afghanistan since the 1980s, and over this period it has facilitated the return of millions of refugees and assisted other forcibly displaced persons inside the country.

The agency said it is seeking “a fuller understanding” of the circumstances of the attack. “Nevertheless, the fact remains that people working for us have been wounded and killed and the functioning of our Kandahar office seriously disrupted,” it stated.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40252&Cr=Afghan&Cr1=