SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO ITALIAN GOVERNMENT OVER SHOOTING DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN OF LT. COL. CARMINE CALO, OF UN SPECIAL MISSION
Press Release
SG/SM/6681
AFG/83
SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO ITALIAN GOVERNMENT OVER SHOOTING DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN OF LT. COL. CARMINE CALO, OF UN SPECIAL MISSION
19980824 The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Kofi Annan:The Secretary-General has received, with profound sorrow, the news of the death of Lt. Colonel Carmine Calo (Italy). Lt. Colonel Calo, a military adviser to the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA), died at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hospital in Kabul on the morning of 22 August due to complications from gunshot wounds. He was the ninth fatality among military officers serving with United Nations peacekeeping and peacemaking operations since the beginning of the year. Lt. Colonel Calo's death is yet another reminder of the high price which United Nations personnel have had to pay in the cause for peace.
Lt. Colonel Calo was shot by a gunman on the previous morning when a United Nations vehicle driven by him was approaching the United Nations Office in Kabul. Another UNSMA official, Political Affairs Officer Eric Lavertu (France), was also wounded in the attack.
The Secretary-General offers his condolences to the Government of Italy over the untimely loss of an outstanding officer dedicated to the cause of peace in Afghanistan. The Secretary-General would like, in particular, to express his deepest sympathy to the relatives of Lt. Colonel Calo. While he had spent only one month in service with UNSMA, Lt. Colonel Calo was held in high regard for his professional conduct and objective reporting in the mission area. His selfless devotion and personal sacrifice will be remembered not only by the United Nations but also by the people of Afghanistan.
The Secretary-General wished to take this occasion to reiterate his call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Afghanistan, as well as for dialogue between the warring parties, since there can be no military solution to the Afghan conflict. He urges the parties to ensure that the human rights and dignity of non-combatants of all ethnic groups, including the Hazaras, are fully respected.
The Secretary-General reminds the Taliban authorities that the United Nations awaits the outcome of their investigation of the incident, including full information about those whom the Taliban has announced have been detained in connection with this incident.
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