13/12/2007
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday (December 12th) that United Nations staff will remain in Algeria. In a live address from Indonesia, the UN chief said he spoke to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika last night and asked him to help take security precautions to protect UN employees in Algiers.
Tuesday's suicide bombing outside the UNHCR facility in Algiers killed nine UN workers and, according to UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe, some staff members are still missing. It was the worst attack on UN personnel since 2003 in Baghdad.
The UN Secretary-General said, "Our mission has been, and will always be, to help those most in need. The Baghdad attack will not deter us. Neither will this most recent attack. Our colleagues in Algiers would ask no less."