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UN personnel suffer deadliest year in 2007
Jan 2, 2008, 19:53 GMT
New York - A total of 42 United Nations personnel were killed while performing their duties in 2007, including 17 killed by the bombing attacks in Algiers last month, the UN said Wednesday.
The dead included nine peacekeepers killed in Sudan, Lebanon, Uganda and Afghanistan.
'While we mourn our colleagues and the other civilians killed, we cannot but stress the need for prevention and punishment,' said Stephen Kisambira, the president of the UN staff union. He called the high death toll the 'deadliest in years.'
The union said the UN Department of Safety and Security is responsible for safety of UN personnel working in the field and urged enhanced measures to ensure that the personnel is protected.
'Very seldom the perpetrators are prosecuted, perpetuating the climate of impunity,' Kisambira said.
The 17 UN staff killed in Algiers on December 11 represented the highest death toll since the UN mission in Baghdad was blown up in August, 2003, killing 22 people, including the high profile head of mission, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
© 2008 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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