United Nations staff all over the world observed a minute’s silence at 10 a.m. local time on 18 November in tribute to 17 staff members, mostly Algerians, who were killed in a devastating attack on 11 December in Algiers.

In Khartoum, led by Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Ashraf Qazi, UNMIS staff assembled at mission headquarters under the UN flag in a show of solidarity with colleagues worldwide to mourn the victims of the explosion.

Condemning the attack, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said earlier, “I stand with the people of Algeria and the wider region in the face of the scourge of terrorism.”

Offices of United Nations Development Programme, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Labour Organisation were razed in the attacks, which also destroyed a government building. The death toll was 37.