22/01/2008
UN and Algerian officials held discussions over the weekend to ease tensions over the UN's plans for an independent panel to investigate the December 11th Algiers attacks that killed 17 UN staff members, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokeswoman said on Monday (January 21st). Algerian officials, including Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, have denounced the probe, describing it as a unilateral measure.
Ban's cabinet chief Vijay Nambiar met with Algeria's ambassador to the UN Youcef Yousfi twice over the weekend, "to overcome any misunderstandings and to get the co-operation of the Algerian authorities with this independent panel", the spokeswoman said.
"The panel is not a criminal investigation," she added, concluding that the panel's purpose "is to make a concerted effort to fight international terrorism and prevent such acts from occurring again."