Murder Of Five NGO Aid Workers In Afghanistan

UN Mission Denounces Murder Of Five Aid Workers In Afghanistan

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has strongly condemned yesterday's murder of five non-governmental organization (NGO) staff in an ambush north of Kabul.

The attack took place at about 7 p.m. when two gunmen stopped a car carrying eight employees of the Sanayee Development Foundation in a remote area of the Sarobi District, about 25 kilometres north of Kabul.

After searching the staff, the gunmen opened fire, killing five while three others managed to escape into the darkness.

Manoel de Almeida e Silva, a http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusnews.asp?NewsID=664&sID=1 spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), told journalists today in Kabul that "it is one more of these security incidents that are absolutely unacceptable."

"These NGO employees were doing work for the implementation of the National Solidarity Programme, which is one of the key projects in this country to empower communities by allowing them to develop projects that they think are priorities in their areas," he said.

The Foundation had been working in the area for six months helping to set up a local shura, or consultative decision-making forum, as part of Afghanistan's election process.

© Scoop Media