United Nations (UN) has warned Boko Haram and other terrorist groups across the world to stop killing its officials and stressed that staff members of the world body have become primary targets of attacks by terrorists and insurgents around the globe.
The world body’s staff union gave this warning, yesterday, as it paid tribute to colleagues killed while serving with the Organisation in 2011.
The union said, “35 UN personnel (25 civilians, nine peacekeepers and a military officer) were killed in 2011, along with four security guards working for the Organisation. The number represents an increase in the death-toll from attacks on UN staff members compared with the previous year, when 15 UN personnel were killed.
“Enough is enough,” the union President, Barbara Tavora-Jainchill said and added that “one life lost is one life too many. The security and safety of United Nations premises and staff have to be taken more seriously. More funds must be made available for that purpose and decisions regarding security of staff should be independent of any economic or political consideration,” she added.