“I condemn today’s appalling attack against innocent civilians and dedicated international officials who are providing critical peace-building and State building support to Somalia,” Nicholas Kay, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), declared in a press statement issued earlier this afternoon.

“The attack is an attempt to deter and undermine those from the international community working with Somalis to build a better Somalia,” he continued. “These terrorists will not achieve that objective.”

In a briefing of the Security Council last month, Kay told Security Council members that momentum had been regained on efforts to achieve political progress in the country, pointing to work by federal, regional and local leaders, and parliamentarians to build a State through dialogue and reconciliation, and top-level commitment to deliver Somalia's Vision 2016 plan.

At the same time, however, he conceded that there was “still a long way to go,” adding that with so much at stake between now and 2016, “we can expect Al-Shabaab to do everything it can to derail the political process.”

In today’s statement, the UN official added his “sincere condolences” to the family and friends of all those who have suffered, as well as to the government of the UAE, and reiterated the UN’s “unfaltering commitment to fighting the scourge of terrorism.”

UN Photo/Tobin Jones