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Afghanistan

Afghanistan/ Cameroon: UNHCR shocked and saddened by deaths of two staff members

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond - to whom quoted text may be attributed

  • at the press briefing, on 8 May 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR is shocked and saddened by the tragic deaths of two staff members this week.

This morning, a UNHCR driver in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was shot by an unidentified assailant while on his way to work. The 38-year-old Afghan colleague was taken to hospital, where he died of his wounds. An investigation is currently underway.

We were also deeply saddened by the loss of UNHCR staff member Akouvi Enyonam Kumodzi-Agbeviade, who was among the passengers on Kenya Airways flight KQ507 which crashed shortly after takeoff early Saturday from Douala, Cameroon. Ms. Kumodzi-Agbeviade, a Togolese, had been on mission in Bangui, where she had been appointed senior administrative and programme officer. The High Commissioner and all UNHCR staff extend our deepest condolences to the families of these two valued colleagues.