Twelve United Nations personnel and three civilian staff members were killed in the line of duty in 2020, bringing the total number of deaths over the last decade to 440, according to findings of the Standing Committee for the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service of the United Nations Staff Union. The highest number of deaths occurred in 2017 with 71 killings, followed closely with 61 personnel deaths in 2014. While the killings in 2020 pale against the 2019 total of 28 deaths, Nemeth said the deaths are sacrifices that are hard to come to terms with. So far, one suspect, 76-year-old Mahmoud Bazzi, who kidnapped and killed two Irish peacekeepers in the 1980s, was sentenced to 15 years. The efforts and memories of the lost souls “will not be forgotten as they rest in the sacred and blessed grounds, marking their devotion to humankind around the world,” Nemeth noted.

Source: Ethiopian News February 09, 2021 01:41 UTC