The United Nations says 2007 was one of the deadliest years on record for U.N. staffers.
The United Nations said Wednesday that 42 civilian staffers and peacekeepers were killed in acts of violence worldwide last year, compared to 32 in 2006 and about half that in 2005.
The U.N. said the worst incident this year was in a bombing in Algiers on December 11, when 17 U.N. staff members were among dozens who died in two car bomb attacks, an incident Secretary Ban Ki-Moon called "despicable." Six staffers lost their lives in a bomb attack in Lebanon June 24, and another died the following month. Six other U.N. workers died in Sudanese violence in several different incidents.
Afghanistan was also the scene of six U.N. deaths over the course of the year. Other U.N. staffers were detained in Darfur, Somalia, and Burma.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
