SECRETARY-GENERAL DEEPLY DISTRESSED BY NEWS OF DEATH OF SUDANESE RED CRESCENT WORKER AND THREE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

5 April 1999

Press Release
SG/SM/6947
AFR/139

SECRETARY-GENERAL DEEPLY DISTRESSED BY NEWS OF DEATH OF SUDANESE RED CRESCENT WORKER AND THREE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

19990405 The Secretary-General was deeply distressed by the news of the death of a Sudanese Red Crescent worker and of three Government officials last week while in the custody of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The four Sudanese had been accompanying an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team on mission near the southern Sudanese town of Bentiu on 18 February when they were detained by the SPLM/A. It is particularly disturbing that they died despite numerous appeals to their captors to ensure their physical safety. Their deaths illustrate yet again the tragic and urgent need for protection for those who are trying to aid the victims of conflicts.

The United Nations endorses the call by the ICRC for a full and immediate inquiry into the circumstances surrounding these deaths so that those responsible for such acts may be brought to justice. I extend my condolences to the families affected by this tragedy, to the ICRC and to the Sudanese Government.

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