SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS VIOLENCE AGAINST UN PERSONNEL,

 

FOLLOWING KILLING OF PEACEKEEPER IN HAITI

 

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General learned with great dismay and sadness of the death of one member of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) yesterday, the third combat fatality sustained since the Mission’s deployment in June 2004.

At about 1615 hours yesterday, while supervising the setting up of a checkpoint in the shantytown of Cité Soleil in Port-au-Prince, MINUSTAH troops came under fire from unidentified gunmen.  During this attack, a UN soldier from the Philippines was shot and later died from his injuries.

The Secretary-General shares the indignation expressed yesterday in Haiti by Security Council members, and vigorously condemns all violence against UN personnel.  The Secretary-General expresses his sincere condolences to the soldier’s family, the Philippine contingent and the Government of the Philippines, and reiterates MINUSTAH’s resolve to continue to work towards the establishment of a peaceful environment in Haiti.

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