THE UN FLAG AT HALF MAST IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AS WELL
12/12/2007
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Following yesterday’s terrorist attacks on the United Nations office in Algiers, the United Nations Agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina have expressed sympathy and solidarity with the Algerian colleagues and their families that have been brutally attacked in the act of terror, joining the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has led a chorus of United Nations condemnation the terrorist attacks in Algiers that have reportedly killed dozens of people, including a number of UN staff members, and he has dispatched several top aides to the Algerian capital to investigate the bombings.
“This was an abjectly cowardly strike against civilian officials serving humanity’s highest ideals under the UN banner – base, indecent and unjustifiable by even the most barbarous political standard,” Mr. Ban stated. According to the UN, at approximately 10:30 in the morning on Tuesday in Algiers, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) office collapsed following an explosion, which local authorities have indicated was caused by a car bomb. Another car bomb exploded near the country’s Constitutional Court. No one has so far claimed responsibility.
A spokesperson for the UN said that while the Organization could not provide any figures of fatalities until it had confirmed proof of deaths and the families had been informed, preliminary information indicates there may be five deaths. The UN is checking with hospitals, examining the site of the blast and trying to obtain any proof of deaths, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York, noting that rescue efforts are also continuing. The UN is trying to account for 14 people, she added.
The world body has a total of 40 international staff presently in Algeria, including 19 international staff based there and an additional 21 that are there temporarily, as well as about 115 local UN staff in the capital. The UNDP office housed staff from UNDP, the World Food Programme, the International Labour Organization, the UN Population Fund, the UN Industrial Development Organization, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS and the Department of Safety and Security. The offices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, located across the street, also sustained damage.
The flags at UN Headquarters in New York and at duty stations around the world, including Bosnia and Herzegovina will be flown at half mast through Wednesday.
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