UNITED NATIONS, November 24 (Sputnik) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the suicide bombing attack in southeastern Afghanistan that has killed dozens of civilians during a volleyball game on Sunday, the United Nations said Monday.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the suicide attack on civilians in Afghanistan’s Paktika province on 23 November, which killed at least 50 people and injured more than 60 others,” the organization said in a statement released on its official website.
The UN said Ban “denounces this attack against men, women and children, who were enjoying a community sporting event not only as a grave violation of Afghan and international law, but as fundamentally abhorrent.”
Ban Ki-Moon expressed condolences to the families of the victims and “his steadfast solidarity with the people of Afghanistan in refusing to be cowed by such attacks.” He also expressed hope that those responsible for the attack will be brought to justice soon.
On Sunday, the suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in a stadium in the Yahyakhail district of Afghanistan’s southeastern province of Paktika. The explosion killed 50 people injuring more than 60.
According to the United Nations, 2014 has been the deadliest year for civilians in Afghanistan since 2009. The UN mission in the country has documented a rising number of civilian casualties and an increased use of improvised explosive devices.
