SECRETARY-GENERAL SADDENED BY ASSASSINATION OF KEY AFGHAN LEADER, SAYS ACT OF TERRORISM FURTHER COMPLICATES EFFORTS TO END CONFLICT

SECRETARY-GENERAL SADDENED BY ASSASSINATION OF KEY AFGHAN LEADER,

SAYS ACT OF TERRORISM FURTHER COMPLICATES EFFORTS TO END CONFLICT

The Secretary-General is saddened at the assassination of Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, Vice President and Defence Minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan.  Commander Massoud had long established himself as an outstanding military strategist who made a crucial contribution to the preservation of the sovereignty of his country.

This act of terrorism has eliminated a key Afghan leader who had repeatedly expressed his readiness to take part in negotiations towards a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.  Both the method and the apparent involvement of non-Afghan elements in this crime further complicate the efforts of the international community to end the conflict.

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