UN voices concern over killings of mine action team in Afghanistan
7 August -- The United Nations today expressed its concern over reports that seven men working for a UN-supported mine action organization were killed and another eight injured in an ambush in Afghanistan over the weekend, a UN spokesman said in New York.
The 15 people -- who were working in Herat, western Afghanistan -- all worked for OMAR, a non-governmental demining agency that implements mine clearance projects under the umbrella of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva told correspondents at UN Headquarters.
"At this time, it is not known why they were attacked, or by whom," the spokesman said, adding that the men were shot by unknown gunmen on Saturday when their vehicles were stopped at a pass between Herat and Baghdis provinces. "The United Nations is trying to clarify details about the attack, which remain murky."
About 5,000 Afghan nationals are currently implementing UN mine action projects in Afghanistan.
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