Post date: Jun 19, 2013 5:9:43 PM
The United Nations Secretary-General says, in a statement, that he is "deeply concerned and outraged by the despicable attack" against the U.N. compound in Mogadishu.
UNITED NATIONS (JUNE 19, 2013) (UNTV) - Islamist militants carried out a deadly assault on the main U.N. compound in the Somali capital on Wednesday (June 19), dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats.
The assault, claimed by Islamist group al Shabaab, began before midday when a car bomb exploded outside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base. Rebel gunmen forced their way into the compound and fought with security guards.The African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, which sent soldiers and armored vehicles to the compound, which includes several buildings, said it was under the control of friendly troops after a gun fight that lasted more than 90 minutes.
Interior Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled said four foreign U.N. security staff and four local guards were killed in the gun battle that left seven insurgent fighters dead.
An ambulance service official said his crew carried away seven dead civilians, bringing the total dead to 22.
It was the first significant attack on U.N. premises by al Shabaab since they were driven out of Mogadishu in fighting with AU and Somali government forces about two years ago.
Speaking to journalists at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.N. Deputy Spokesman Eduardo del Buey said, "The Secretary-General spoke by telephone with the president of Somalia regarding today's attack in the capital Mogadishu. The Secretary-General said he was deeply concerned and outraged by the despicable attack against the Untied Nations and added his own personal condolences to the families of the deceased. He urged the president to ensure U.N. staff are protected and to coordinate closely with the African Union mission in Somalia and his special representative. The Secretary-General said the United Nations would not be deterred from delivering its mandate."
"The full details are still emerging, but we know that several people have died," he continued. "For his part, the Secretary-General's Special Representative Nicholas Kay called the attack 'an act of blatant terrorism, a desperate attack to knockSomalia off its path of recovery and peace building,' adding that reports of casualties are still being verified. The special representative said that while colleagues in Mogadishu are shaken the United Nations remains determined to stand by the people of Somalia."
More than a million Somalis live in crisis conditions, according to the United Nations, which has started building up offices and international staff after security improved.
The raid was a copycat of a strike on Mogadishu's law courts in April, when gunmen detonated suicide vests during a gunbattle with security forces. Interior Minister Guled confirmed some of the assailants blew themselves up on Wednesday.
AU forces and government troops drove al Shabaab rebels out of the coastal capital in 2011, but militants have kept up guerrilla-style attacks from rural bases.
The overthrow of a dictator in 1991 plunged Somalia into two decades of violent turmoil, first at the hands of clan warlords and then Islamist militants, who have steadily lost ground since 2011 under pressure from the AU military offensive.