Explosion at UN building in Nigeria’s capital

• Many feared dead after entire wing of Abuja building is levelled • Geneva office of UN says complex was bombed Many people are feared dead after a large explosion tore through a United Nations building in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, levelling one wing of the building. Witnesses said police and emergency workers were carrying dead bodies from the building after the explosion, which happened just before 11am in the same neighbourhood as the US embassy and other diplomatic posts. Police and the wounded thronged around the three-storey building as people began to search for victims. Alessandra Vellucci, a spokeswoman for the UN office in Geneva, said its offices in Abuja had been bombed. She told the Associated Press that there was no word yet on casualties. Michael Ofilaje, a Unicef worker at the building, said: “I saw scattered bodies. Many people are dead.” Ofilaje told the Associated Press it felt like “the blast came from the basement and shook the building”. The building houses about 400 employees of the UN in Nigeria and the majority of its offices there. Nigeria Africa United Nations Global terrorism guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 26, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.