The international staff of United Nations in Afghanistan today are temporarily relocated from its office in the northern province of Kunduz which was attacked this weekend.
According to media reports, the UN office was attacked by angry Afghans following incidents that U.S. soldiers allegedly burned copies of Koran at the coalition-run Bagram Air Base in the northeastern Afghan province of Parwan.
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reports that temporary relocation takes place inside Afghanistan.
No UN staff members were hurt in Saturday’s attack. However, UNAMA reports that there were casualties among the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), which responded to the incident, and among the demonstrators that had gathered outside the mission’s compound.
UNAMA says it intends to put in place additional arrangements and measures to make sure that the office can continue to operate in safety.
“The UNAMA office in Kunduz will continue to deliver the critical programmes in the region for the people who need them the most.” -UNAMA
The mission adds that the world body will continue to stand by the people of Afghanistan for as long as they want it to do so.
According to media reports, more than 30 people have been killed in various cities since last week’s incident.
On April 2011, angry demonstrators stormed a United Nations’ compound in Mazar-i-Sharif that resulted in the death of three UN staff and four security guards.
A large crowd of demonstrators angry at the burning of a copy of the Koran by a United States group stormed a the UN compound and killed three UN staff and the Nepalese guards. The attack took place about 4:30 p.m. at an operations centre for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Mazar-i-Sharif.
UNAMA is mandated to assist and support the government of Afghanistan in its state-building and development efforts, and coordinate and harmonise international assistance to the country.
UNAMA has been in place since March 2002, when following the fall of the Taliban, the Bonn Agreement established an interim Government and prescribed the drafting of a new constitution and the holding of elections.
