Fijian among United Nations staff killed in Libya bombing
AFijian national and two other staff members of the United Nations Support Missions in Libya (UNSMIL) have been killed in a car bomb in front of a shopping center in Benghazi – reported a security source from Benghazi in eastern Libya. According to the United Nations Field Staff Union (UNFSU) Facebook page, Seniloli Rakai, is the Fijian national.
The car bomb explosion in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi killed three UN staff members and
two other mission members on Saturday, the United Nations said. The UN is trying to broker a truce in the capital Tripoli, where the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) launched a surprise attack in April. A Reuters reporter at a Benghazi hospital where casualties of the blast were taken saw a list of names of those killed identifying them as part of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
The United Nations gave no more details, saying only some of its casualties had been members working in Benghazi, where its Libya mission had been boosting its presence recently.
UN secretary general António Guterres condemned the attack, a spokesman said in a statement.
“The secretary general calls on all parties to respect the humanitarian truce during Eid al-Adha and return to the negotiating table to pursue the peaceful future the people of Libya deserve,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.
The United Nations security council was due to meet, at the request of France, to discuss the latest developments in Libya.
According to the United Nations Field Staff Union (UNFSU) Facebook page, Seniloli Rakai, is one of those killed.