United Nations Radio

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned a terrorist attack at a hotel in Pakistan on Tuesday which killed at least 18 people, including two UN staff members.

Aleksandar Vorkapic (UNHCR Photo)

In a statement released that day, Mr. Ban expressed his sadness at the large numbers of dead and wounded following the attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar.

Among those killed were Aleksandar Vorkapic of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), and Perseveranda So of UNICEF.

Mr. Vorkapic, who was from Serbia, was part of a UNHCR emergency team recently deployed to Pakistan to help with the current displacement crisis.

Perseveranda So (UNICEF Photo)

Ms. So, a native of The Philippines, was UNICEF's Chief of Education in Pakistan. She was in Peshawar to help implement programmes for girls' education.

The Secretary-General extended his condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Pakistan, and wished those injured a full recovery.

This is Dianne Penn for United Nations Radio.

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