De 27 resterende ontvoerde mijnopruimers zijn vrij. Ze werden vorige week in de West-Afghaanse provincie Farah ontvoerd. Vier ontmijners werden zondag dood teruggevonden.
Daud Farahi, een manager van de Demining Agency for Afghanistan (DAFA) zei maandag dat de rest van de gekidnapte mijnopruimers in de nacht waren vrijgelaten.
De verklaring van de VN
UN mission in Afghanistan deplores killing of de-miners
The United Nations has strongly condemned the brutal killing of four de-miners in the western Afghan province of Farah, stating that attacks on those who deliver humanitarian services are totally unacceptable.
The four – who worked for the De-mining Agency for Afghanistan – were among 31 individuals who were first abducted while working on life-saving activities in Balabuluk district on 6 July, according to a statement released by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
“De-miners are providing life-saving services to vulnerable Afghans regardless of any political, religious, ethnic or geographical consideration,” said Michael Keating, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan.
The head of the Mine Action Coordination Centre for Afghanistan (MACCA), Alan Macdonald, said he was appalled by the killings, and called on all Afghans to “support and respect the efforts being made by their fellow countrymen to clear Afghanistan of landmines and other explosive remnants of war.”
UNAMA stressed that attacks on those who deliver humanitarian services are against international humanitarian law, adding that such attacks are “totally unacceptable.”
“The United Nations urges the Government and all those in a position of responsibility to do everything possible to investigate this unprecedented incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the Mission said in a statement.
The widespread and indiscriminate use of mines during more than two decades of conflict has turned Afghanistan into one of the world’s most heavily contaminated countries. Every month, an average of 40 people are killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war in the country.
So far more than 15,000 landmine-contaminated areas in Afghanistan – representing more than two-thirds of the affected territory – have been cleared and handed back to local communities.
(UN: Jul 11 2011)
Zie ook:
Zes ontvoerde Afghaanse ontmijners in Farah vermoord
maandag 11 juli 2011
zaterdag 2 april 2011
UN strongly condemns deadly attack against staff in Afghanistan
De VN-Veiligheidsraad kwam vrijdag in spoedzitting bijeen na de aanval op het gebouw van de UNAMA-missie in Mazar-e-Sharif waarbij zeker zeven medewerkers van de volkenorganisatie omkwamen.
De verklaring van de VN:
The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have strongly condemned today’s attack in Afghanistan in which a large crowd of demonstrators angry at the burning of a copy of the Koran by a United States group stormed a United Nations compound and killed a number of people, including three UN staff members.
The attack took place about 4:30 p.m. at an operations centre for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to information released by the mission.
UNAMA has confirmed that three international staff working with the mission were killed, as well as four Nepalese Gurkha soldiers serving as guards at the operations centre. 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 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.
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.
Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and the head of UNAMA, has arrived in Mazar-i-Sharif to lead a team that is investigating the attack and assessing the situation.
A senior team from UN Headquarters, including Mr. Ban’s Chef de Cabinet Vijay Nambiar and Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security Gregory Starr, is also on its way to the country to review the security situation.
Wounded staff have been evacuated from Mazar-i-Sharif, but Mr. Le Roy stressed that the UN would continue to have a presence in the city.
(VN: 01-04-2011)
Zie ook:
Veiligheidsraad VN veroordeelt dodelijke aanval op VN-medewerkers in Mazar-e-Sharif
De verklaring van de VN:
The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have strongly condemned today’s attack in Afghanistan in which a large crowd of demonstrators angry at the burning of a copy of the Koran by a United States group stormed a United Nations compound and killed a number of people, including three UN staff members.
The attack took place about 4:30 p.m. at an operations centre for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to information released by the mission.
UNAMA has confirmed that three international staff working with the mission were killed, as well as four Nepalese Gurkha soldiers serving as guards at the operations centre. 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 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.
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.
Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and the head of UNAMA, has arrived in Mazar-i-Sharif to lead a team that is investigating the attack and assessing the situation.
A senior team from UN Headquarters, including Mr. Ban’s Chef de Cabinet Vijay Nambiar and Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security Gregory Starr, is also on its way to the country to review the security situation.
Wounded staff have been evacuated from Mazar-i-Sharif, but Mr. Le Roy stressed that the UN would continue to have a presence in the city.
(VN: 01-04-2011)
Zie ook:
Veiligheidsraad VN veroordeelt dodelijke aanval op VN-medewerkers in Mazar-e-Sharif
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