Condemning the militant attack on an army camp in North Kashmir’s Uri town that killed 17 soldiers, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hoped the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice and all involved will work for the re-establishment of stability and prevent further loss of life.
“The United Nations is following developments closely and shares the concerns of people living in the region for peace,” a statement issued by Ban’s spokesperson here said.
Ban expressed hope that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and all stakeholders will meet their responsibilities to maintain peace and stability.
“The Secretary-General hopes that the perpetrators of this crime will be identified and brought to justice,” it said.
He “hopes that all involved will prioritise the re-establishment of stability and prevent any further loss of life. The Secretary-General encourages all stakeholders to meet their respective responsibilities to maintain peace and stability,” the statement said.
Condemning the “militant attack”, Ban expressed his “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the families of the soldiers who lost their lives and to the government of India and wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, who succeeded Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as the head of the Non-Aligned Movement, also expressed solidarity with the people of India “who have suffered a terrorist attack.”
“We are committed along with our brotherly people of the world to get into the depth of this problem that has generated proliferation of terrorist movements, which doesn’t respect life and the need for coexistence of people,” he said at a press conference after the summit in Margarita Island yesterday.
In one of the deadliest attacks on the Army in recent years, 17 soldiers were killed and 19 others injured as heavily armed militants stormed a battalion headquarters of the force in North Kashmir’s Uri town early yesterday.
Four militants involved in the terror strike were killed by the Army.
The attack comes two years after militants had carried out a similar type of attack at Mohra in the same area. Ten security personnel were killed in the attack that took place on December 5, 2014.
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gates of a local government headquarters in Somalia while another bomber targeted a nearby marketplace, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 30 others, police said.
Abdisalam Yusuf with the police said one bomber rammed the car into a checkpoint in Galkayo town yesterday morning after reaching the main gate of Puntland’s local government.
Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in northern Somalia, controls the northern part of the town, while the southern part is controlled by rival regional state Galmudug.
Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke condemned the twin blasts, saying that “evil-doers” had targeted innocent civilians.
The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group claimed responsibility for the attack. The town, unlike other parts of the country where al-Shabab continues a deadly guerrilla campaign, rarely sees such attacks.
The town’s main hospital received more than 15 wounded people, including some with horrific wounds, a nurse, Abdikareem Ali, told The Associated Press.
“Some of them were burnt beyond recognition. It was a dark day,” he said.
Some of the bodies were discovered in nearby houses destroyed by the blasts, said Col Muse Hassan, a senior police officer.
Al-Shabab is waging an insurgency against Somalia’s weak UN-backed government with the goal of establishing an Islamic emirate, ruled by a strict version of Shariah law.
More than 22,000 peacekeepers are deployed in Somalia in the multi-national African Union force. Al-Shabab opposes the presence of foreign troops in the country.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price issued a statement strongly condemning the bomb attacks in Puntland, accusing the terrorists of attempting “to weaken Somalia ahead of its historic scheduled political transition this autumn.”
Somalia faces key parliamentary elections next month and a presidential election in October. The country has been trying to rebuild after establishing its first functioning central government since 1991.PTI
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