UN pays tribute to dead Serbian aid worker

Fifteen people, including one Serbian national, have died and 70 people have been injured in a terrorist attack on a luxury hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan. In a statement issued by his press office, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack which claimed the life of Aleksandar Vorkapic (42), who worked for the UN refugee agency. UN pays tribute to dead Serbian aid worker Ban stated that Vorkapic had been part of a crisis team recently dispatched to Pakistan to help deal with the refugee problem. "Once again, a dedicated staff member of the United Nations is among the victims of a heinous terrorist attack which no cause can justify," Ban's press office said. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres held a commemoration for Vorkapic with colleagues from around the world today. “Aleksandar Vorkapic had volunteered for UNHCR's emergency roster and was deployed last month, along with a team of other specialists, to help the hundreds of thousands of civilians recently displaced in north-west Pakistan," Guterres said at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. "He was on his first emergency mission and he gave his life serving others. All of us at UNHCR are devastated by this tragedy and we convey our deepest condolences to his family in Belgrade," added Guterres. Vorkapic, a Serbian national, leaves behind a wife and three children. He had worked as an IT expert in the UNHCR’s Belgrade office since 2000. Guterres endorsed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s condemnation of the attack, stating that there could be no justification for it. “Humanitarian workers around the world are coming under increasing attack and it is the poor, the uprooted and the vulnerable who will suffer the most by their loss," he said. "Aleksandar Vorkapic was the second UNHCR staff member to be killed in less than five months in Pakistan, where hundreds of thousands of people depend on UNHCR assistance. Now, once again, we are forced to ask ourselves how we can meet their urgent needs while ensuring the safety of our own humanitarian staff. It is a truly terrible dilemma," the High Commissioner added. The aftermath of the attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel (FoNet) Attack Militants shot their way through a security post at the gate of the Pearl Continental Hotel in the northwestern city of Peshawar and a suspected suicide bomber set off the truck bomb in front of the lobby, security officials said. The hotel's windows were shattered and much of the front of the building was destroyed. Police said the bomb contained 500 kg (1,100 lb) of explosives, similar size to a suicide truck bomb at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad last year that killed 55 people. "I was in the Chinese restaurant when we heard firing and then a blast. It was totally dark and people started shouting and running," hotel waiter Ali Khan told Reuters. About 70 people were wounded, among them a German woman working for the UN children's fund, a British man and a Nigerian man, Anis said. About a dozen UN staff were staying at the hotel. The United Nations is heavily involved in providing relief for more than 2.5 million people displaced by the fighting in Swat and elsewhere in the northwest. There was no claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but the Taliban have warned of retaliatory action over the Swat offensive. Washington heartened The United States, which needs sustained Pakistani action to help defeat al Qaeda and cut off militant support for the Afghan Taliban, has been heartened by the resolve the government and military are showing in Swat. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said on Monday Pakistan's army was gaining in the offensive because public support for the operation was solidifying. The government's military effort has been helped by a shift in public opinion in support of the use of force. That support might ebb if the welfare of some 2.5 million people displaced by the conflict in the northwest is mishandled. U.S. officials are rallying international support to help Pakistan cope with the humanitarian crisis. The military says troops have cleared most of Swat, but soldiers are encountering pockets of resistance. In all, the army says more than 1,300 militants and 105 soldiers have been killed in the offensive. There has been no independent confirmation of the figures. The hotel manager was among the missing, according to Jameel Khawar, a spokesman for the Pearl Continental. Less than a third of the hotel's 150 rooms were occupied. While rescuers searched the ruined hotel, a bomb disposal squad on Wednesday sifted through the site of the blast, which destroyed dozens of cars parked in the forecourt.

UN pays tribute to dead Serbian aid worker

Ban stated that Vorkapić had been part of a crisis team recently dispatched to Pakistan to help deal with the refugee problem.

"Once again, a dedicated staff member of the United Nations is among the victims of a heinous terrorist attack which no cause can justify," Ban's press office said.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres held a commemoration for Vorkapić with colleagues from around the world today.

“Aleksandar Vorkapić had volunteered for UNHCR's emergency roster and was deployed last month, along with a team of other specialists, to help the hundreds of thousands of civilians recently displaced in north-west Pakistan," Guterres said at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

"He was on his first emergency mission and he gave his life serving others. All of us at UNHCR are devastated by this tragedy and we convey our deepest condolences to his family in Belgrade," added Guterres.

Vorkapić, a Serbian national, leaves behind a wife and three children. He had worked as an IT expert in the UNHCR’s Belgrade office since 2000.

Guterres endorsed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s condemnation of the attack, stating that there could be no justification for it.

“Humanitarian workers around the world are coming under increasing attack and it is the poor, the uprooted and the vulnerable who will suffer the most by their loss," he said.

"Aleksandar Vorkapic was the second UNHCR staff member to be killed in less than five months in Pakistan, where hundreds of thousands of people depend on UNHCR assistance. Now, once again, we are forced to ask ourselves how we can meet their urgent needs while ensuring the safety of our own humanitarian staff. It is a truly terrible dilemma," the High Commissioner added.

Attack

Militants shot their way through a security post at the gate of the Pearl Continental Hotel in the northwestern city of Peshawar and a suspected suicide bomber set off the truck bomb in front of the lobby, security officials said.

The hotel's windows were shattered and much of the front of the building was destroyed. Police said the bomb contained 500 kg (1,100 lb) of explosives, similar size to a suicide truck bomb at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad last year that killed 55 people.

"I was in the Chinese restaurant when we heard firing and then a blast. It was totally dark and people started shouting and running," hotel waiter Ali Khan told Reuters.

About 70 people were wounded, among them a German woman working for the UN children's fund, a British man and a Nigerian man, Anis said.

About a dozen UN staff were staying at the hotel.

The United Nations is heavily involved in providing relief for more than 2.5 million people displaced by the fighting in Swat and elsewhere in the northwest.

There was no claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but the Taliban have warned of retaliatory action over the Swat offensive.

Washington heartened

The United States, which needs sustained Pakistani action to help defeat al Qaeda and cut off militant support for the Afghan Taliban, has been heartened by the resolve the government and military are showing in Swat.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said on Monday Pakistan's army was gaining in the offensive because public support for the operation was solidifying.

The government's military effort has been helped by a shift in public opinion in support of the use of force.

That support might ebb if the welfare of some 2.5 million people displaced by the conflict in the northwest is mishandled. U.S. officials are rallying international support to help Pakistan cope with the humanitarian crisis.

The military says troops have cleared most of Swat, but soldiers are encountering pockets of resistance.

In all, the army says more than 1,300 militants and 105 soldiers have been killed in the offensive. There has been no independent confirmation of the figures.

The hotel manager was among the missing, according to Jameel Khawar, a spokesman for the Pearl Continental.

Less than a third of the hotel's 150 rooms were occupied.

While rescuers searched the ruined hotel, a bomb disposal squad on Wednesday sifted through the site of the blast, which destroyed dozens of cars parked in the forecourt.