New York - SPA
The U.N. mission in Somalia strongly condemned an attack Thursday near the airport in Mogadishu that resulted in several deaths and injuries. At least seven Somalis were killed and 15 injured when a remote-controlled car bomb aimed at a U.N. convoy ripped through vehicles and tea shops just outside the capital's heavily guarded international airport, where many diplomats are based, local police said. "The U.N. in Somalia strongly condemns the attack and expresses deep sorrow at the reported deaths and injuries of Somali bystanders," said Nicholas Kay, the secretary-general's special representative for Somalia and the chief of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). Kay said no U.N. workers were injured, but four Somali men who were part of a private security escort for the U.N. convoy suffered minor injuries. He said one U.N. vehicle was damaged.