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UN condemns ongoing detention of staff member kidnapped in Somalia

UN condemns ongoing detention of staff member kidnapped in Somalia

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The United Nations today strongly condemned the continued detention of Abdulkadir Mohamed Abikar, a national project staff member who was abducted in Somalia earlier this week, and demanded his immediate and unconditional release.

Mr. Abikar, the Officer-in-Charge of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization's (FAO) Security Assessment Unit in Mogadishu, was kidnapped while headed to his office on Monday morning.

“This is a further criminal act against staff of the United Nations in Somalia, whose fundamental mandate is to do all that they can to support the Somali people,” Maxwell Gaylard, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the country, said in Nairobi.

Mr. Gaylard called for "the renewal of respect for the UN flag and all that it stands for in the promotion of peace and development," and for full protection and immunity of UN staff carrying out their duties.