U.N. Security Council decries violence

UNITED NATIONS, July 8 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council Tuesday condemned the recent killing of a U.N. official in Somalia and terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

The council called on Somalis to prevent attacks such as the one last weekend that resulted in the shooting death of Osman Ali Ahmed, head of the U.N. Development Program in Somalia, and the wounding of his brother and son in Mogadishu.

Ambassador Le Luong Minh of Vietnam, which holds the council's rotating presidency this month, said the body had reaffirmed "the imperative to respect, in all circumstances, the safety and security of United Nations and humanitarian relief personnel."

Regarding Pakistan, the council called the recent attacks, including a weekend blast in Islamabad that killed at least 19 people, "reprehensible" and called on those responsible to be brought to justice.

Minh said the council stressed "the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts."