Gunmen attack World Health Organization compound in Somalia
19 September -- Two United Nations security officers have been evacuated from a city in southern Somalia after armed gunmen attacked the World Health Organization (WHO) compound where they were staying, a UN spokesman announced today.
The two officers were in the city of Merka trying to assess security conditions there when the men, carrying small arms, attacked the WHO compound at around 10:30 last night. According to spokesman Fred Eckhard, the attackers fled after a half-hour firefight with local guards. Several rounds hit the building but there were no casualties.
"The security officers had arrived in Merka on Monday on the first assessment mission to that area since it was closed to UN ground and air operations earlier this year, following attacks on the WHO office and on an aircraft at a nearby airfield," Mr. Eckhard told reporters in New York.
Among its activities in Somalia, WHO works in collaboration with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to implement national immunization days. It also helps partner UN agencies to assess the health and nutritional status of the Somali people so that international responses can be tailored to their needs.
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