Afghanistan: UN envoy condemns attacks on aid workers, vows continued relief effort
The chief United Nations envoy in Afghanistan today deplored a recent "brutal and premeditated" deadly attack on aid
workers, but affirmed that the relief drive will continue.
Lakhdar Brahimi issued a statement in Kabul condemning "the vicious attack on a vehicle of the Afghan Red Crescent
Society last Wednesday which resulted in the death of two national staff members and gunshot injuries to four others."
The attack took place in daylight in Ghazni province when two gunmen on a motorbike approached the vehicle and fired on
the passengers inside with AK-47 rifles. It followed similar incidents over the last 10 days, including one when an
Afghan aid worker was killed and others when staff were fired at or beaten and brutalized.
Mr. Brahimi reiterated that "the goal of members of the aid community in Afghanistan, be they nationals or
internationals, is to help the needy and vulnerable to improve their living conditions."
He vowed that the international community would not be deterred by these acts. "The United Nations is committed to using
all means available to continue providing the necessary assistance to the Afghan people," he said.
Through the statement, read by spokesman David Singh, Mr. Brahimi extended his sympathies to the families of the victims
and voiced hope that those injured would soon recover.