UN office in Afghanistan comes under fire, one police guard killed
- 31 Jul 2021
Gulf Today Report
The United Nations says its office in the capital of the western province of Herat on Friday has come under fire at least one security guard was killed.
It wasn’t immediately clear which side was responsible for the fire that hit the UN office.
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The clashes were taking place in the district of Guzara in Herat province, about 10 kilometres (6 miles), from the Herat provincial capital.
UN chief Antonio Guterres speaks to the media. File photo
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the attack and repeated the UN's "commitment to support the Government and people of Afghanistan in their efforts to achieve peace and stability".
The militants say they will not target foreign diplomats, but have blatantly violated international protocol before.
Officials said the attack, involving rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, happened hours after Taliban fighters penetrated deep into Herat city, and there were heavy clashes with Afghan security forces near the UNAMA provincial headquarters.
Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan said that "This attack against the United Nations is deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest terms,"
An Afghan security guard stands guard outside UN office in Guzara, Herat, on Saturday. AFP
"The perpetrators of this attack must be identified and brought to account."
Herat city is the second provincial capital the Taliban have entered in the last 24 hours. Insurgents entered Lashkargah, the capital of the southern province of Helmand, a day earlier, and clashes were under way there. Civilians rushed to evacuate the city.
The Taliban have made swift territorial gains over the last two months but have not yet captured any provincial capitals.
"Since Thursday morning, the Taliban have launched attacks from several directions on Lashkargah city," a government official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity.