KENYA: The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon condemns the killing of United Nations staff in Afghanistan

Record ID: 361459

  • Title: KENYA: The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon condemns the killing of United Nations staff in Afghanistan
  • Date: 2nd April 2011
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (APRIL 1, 2011) (REUTERS) UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL, BAN KI MOON, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL, BAN KI MOON, SAYING: "The details are still not completely clear but I can confirm, sadly, that U.N. personnel have been killed. This was an outrageous and cowardly attack against
  • Embargoed: 17th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya, Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA98D7PH2KW9F6RUZKG85YATHM3
  • Story Text: The United Nations Secretary General condemned the killing of U.N. staff in Afghanistan on Friday (April 1), while also calling on Ivory Coast's presidential claimant to step down.
    Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Nairobi that the attack on the U.N. compound in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif was "outrageous and cowardly".
    "The details are still not completely clear but I can confirm, sadly, that U.N. personnel have been killed," he said.
    The death toll could be as high as 20, U.N. officials told Reuters.
    The deaths came after protesters demonstrating against the burning of Islam's holy book, the Koran, over-ran the U.N. compound, police said.
    Ban also told the news conference in the Kenyan capital that he wanted Ivory Coast's presidential claimant Laurent Gbagbo to cede power to his rival Alassane Ouattara. Gbagbo has so far refused to quit after a November 28 election that U.N.-certified results showed he lost, leading to fierce fighting between the two sides.
    "There has been too much bloodshed including hundreds of civilians killed or wounded," Ban said.
    Battles raged across Ivory Coast's commercial capital on Friday as forces loyal to the rival candidates fought for control. Ban called on all those involved to show restraint.
    "I would remind all those who commit serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws that they will be held accountable," he said.
    The Secretary-General also expressed his concern over the crippled nuclear power plant in Japan.
    "We remain deeply concerned about the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. The situation remains very serious. The developments in Japan have prompted calls to reassess the international emergency response framework and the nuclear safety regime," he said.
    Japan is in the midst of the world's worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl, after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami ravaged the country.
    Radiation 4,000 times the legal limit has been detected in seawater near the plant as contaminated water used to cool down reactor rods leaks into the ocean.
    It could take years, possibly decades, to make safe the area around the plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
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