Armed men ransack UN refugee office in Afghanistan

No injuries were reported but equipment was stolen when an office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Afghanistan was attacked and looted, a UN spokesperson said today.

The UNHCR office in Ghazni, southwest of Kabul, was ransacked on Tuesday evening, when three armed men locked agency staff in the bathroom, took some office equipment and broke into the safe, spokesperson Hua Jiang told reporters in New York. "No one was hurt," she added.

In response, UNHCR will now strengthen security measures in Ghazni, employing armed guards at the compound. "UNHCR considers that while the overall situation in Afghanistan has been improving this year, security still remains fragile in many areas of the country," Ms. Jiang said.