Slain UN Employee Buried in Baghdad

A Somali official of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shot dead by an Iraqi gunman in an attack on the FAO offices was buried in a Baghdad cemetery on Friday. 

An Iraqi government representative, foreign diplomats and UN officials paid their respects at the funeral of Yusuf Abdullah, deputy head of the FAO offices in Iraq's capital. 

Another victim of the gunman, who burst into the FAO offices on Wednesday, an Iraqi computer expert with the UN organization, has been buried in his hometown of Kirkuk, northern Iraq. 

The gunman who also wounded seven others said he wanted to draw attention to the "genocide of thousands of Iraqis" under the UN embargo, which has been in force ever since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. 

Car mechanic Fuad Hussein Haidar told a press conference at a police station after his surrender that he had wanted to take hostage the FAO chief for Baghdad but started shooting after coming under fire from security guards. 

The FAO, which employs around 40 staffers in Baghdad, operates in northern Iraq under a UN humanitarian deal and also runs a regular country program. 

The UN Security Council has since the attack reaffirmed the need to ensure the security of all personnel working for the UN program in Iraq and its support for humanitarian agencies. 

The Security Council said it was awaiting the results of an investigation by Iraqi authorities "as soon as possible" - BAGHDAD (AFP) 

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