United Nations officials in Afghanistan Thursday denounced the killing Wednesday of two German aid agency workers in an ambush in the countrys southeast.
A spokesman for Jean Arnault, the Special Representative of Secretary General Kofi Annan and the chief of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said, “Violence against aid workers is unacceptable and (Mr. Arnault) vigorously condemns this attack.”
The two victims were Afghan workers for the Catholic relief agency Malteser, an implementing partner of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Emal Abdul Samad, a driver, and Mohammad Idrees Sadiq, a field officer, were travelling on the road from Zurmat to Gardez Wednesday afternoon when their unmarked taxi came under fire.
Mr. Sadiq was killed instantly while Mr. Samad was airlifted to Bagram Hospital, where he was treated for heavy injury before succumbing to his wounds.
Malteser – which provides vocational training, cash for work projects and income generation activities in refugee return areas – has suspended all operations in the southeast and central regions of Afghanistan to review the situation. UNHCR has also suspended all movements in the southeast until further notice.
– We are extremely concerned by the repeated security incidents involving aid workers and the increasingly shrinking humanitarian space, a UN spokesman said. During 2004 about 30 aid-workers have been killed in Afghanistan.
Kilde: FNs nyhedstjeneste
