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Pakistan: Attack on World Vision staff brutal and senseless
10 Mar 2010
World Vision today is mourning the brutal and senseless deaths of six members of its staff in the Mansehra District of Pakistan after an unprovoked attack by gunmen.
The international humanitarian organisation confirms reports that gunmen entered its compound, threw grenades, opened fire on staff inside the office, and left the compound after exploding a homemade bomb. The compound is located 65 kilometres north of Mansehra town.
In addition to those killed, eight employees are hospitalised with injuries. Four of them were released from the hospital, while another four remain hospitalised in critical-but-stable condition.
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A policeman looks for evidence in a World Vision office after militants attacked it in Mansehra district.
REUTERS/Abrar Tanoli |
No threatening letters were received prior to the attack. World Vision’s relief and development work in Pakistan is conducted by local citizens, and local leaders have strongly condemned the attack. World Vision sees the attack not only as an attack on its own local staff, but also on the Pakistani people themselves.
All of World Vision’s operations in the country have been suspended for the time being.
World Vision remembers those staff who died as dedicated people seeking to improve the lives of people affected by poverty and disasters.
Since 1992, World Vision has primarily focused on relief interventions in Pakistan. The work expanded in 2001, when the agency began collaborating with other aid groups in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Punjab Province with emergency relief assistance and community development initiatives. After a devastating October 2005 earthquake, World Vision expanded its operations in Pakistan.
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