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UNICEF, WFP mourn losses in Burundi |
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| Tuesday, 12 October 1999: UNICEF and the World Food
Programme (WFP) expressed deep regret and sorrow at the deaths of staff members
from both agencies today in Burundi. The UNICEF Representative to Burundi, Mr. Luis Zuniga (52), and the Chief WFP Logistics Officer were killed when a UN team was ambushed during a routine assessment visit to a displaced persons camp in the southeast part of the country. The camp, Muziye, is located in the Rutana province, near the border with Tanzania. Facts about the incident are still sketchy and uncomfirmed, but the ambush is said to have occurred as the assessment team entered the camp at approximately 10:30 hours (Burundi time) today. "The entire humanitarian community has had a grievous loss today," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy, who spoke from Iraq. "Luis was a highly respected colleague and friend, an impassioned advocate for children, and his loss is deeply mourned by all of us. It is a terrible, terrible tragedy." "All of us at the World Food Programme are deeply saddened by these senseless killings. They are a brutal reminder that despite the selfless aims of humanitarian aid workers, their lives continue to be threatened," said Catherine Bertini, WFP Executive Director. "Last year 12 WFP staff members were killed in the line of duty. One death is unacceptable - 12 is an outrage that cannot be sustained," Bertini added. "The international community will have to find new ways of operating in increasingly hostile environments where respect for UN and humanitarian aid workers is trampled with impunity." Mr. Zuniga, a national of Chile, is survived by his wife and children. He took up his post in Burundi in February 1998. He was previously the UNICEF Resident Project Officer in Cuba. The name of the WFP staff member will be withheld until family members have been notified. The death is the fourth this year for the UN food agency and the second for UNICEF in the last month. |
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| Please email media@unicef.org with comments or requests for more information, quoting CF/DOC/PR/1999/42 |
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