Afghanistan: UN Staff Killed In Attack

United Nations personnel working in Afghanistan have been killed today after a group of demonstrators attacked a UN compound in the country’s northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

The attack took place this afternoon at an operations centre for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), according to information released by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson.

The exact number of UN staff killed is not yet clear, but a UN spokesperson in New York told reporters that there had been a “fairly substantial” number of deaths and casualties, and they included UN staff and guards who were trying to protect staff.

UNAMA spokesperson Dan McNorton said the mission was working to ascertain all the facts and to take care of affected staff.

He said that Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and the head of UNAMA, is now travelling to Mazar-i-Sharif to deal with the situation.