Iraq: UN Calls For Immediate Action On Kidnappings

Iraq: UN Envoy Calls For Immediate Action To Free Kidnapped Education Ministry Workers

New York, Nov 14 2006 11:00AM

Condemning the kidnappings of dozens of people at the Iraqi Higher Education Ministry as “a nefarious crime,” the top United Nations official in the violence-wracked country today called on the authorities to take immediate action to free the victims.

In a statement issued by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative Ashraf Qazi warned of the dangerous effects that the kidnapping of the ministry employees and visitors could have on Iraq’s development.

“Mr. Qazi described the kidnappings, which were conducted in broad daylight, allegedly by uniformed perpetrators, as a nefarious crime that could dangerously and negatively effect progress and development in Iraq, a country long known for its literary and scientific tradition,” the statement said.

“He called on the Iraqi authorities to immediately and inexorably pursue those responsible, free the abductees and ensure the sanctity of higher education.”

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