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Two UN Consultants Killed in Somalia




Two Europeans working for the United Nations have been shot dead in Somalia's Puntland region.

Multiple sources identify the men as Simon Davies, a British citizen and former Scotland Yard officer, and Clement Gorrissen. France says Gorrissen was a French citizen, while other sources identified him as Canadian.

In an interview with VOA , Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said a mentally ill security guard shot the two men Monday as they arrived at an airport in the city of Galkayo.

He says the victims worked for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime and had come to Puntland to help with the construction of a prison.

The regional president says the shooter was immediately arrested by police, and an investigation is under way.



U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned what he called the "cold-blooded" killings. He urged authorities to fully investigate the killings and quickly bring the perpetrators to justice.

U.N. representative to Somalia Nicholas Kay said there can be no justification for such a callous attack. He said the United Nations remains committed to supporting the Somali people as they emerge from decades of conflict.

Last week, a new 500-bed prison built with the help of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime opened in Puntland's capital, Garowe.
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