SECRETARY-GENERAL SADDENED BY ASSASSINATION OF KEY AFGHAN LEADER,
SAYS ACT OF TERRORISM FURTHER COMPLICATES EFFORTS TO END CONFLICT
The Secretary-General is saddened at the assassination of Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, Vice President and Defence Minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan.� Commander Massoud had long established himself as an outstanding military strategist who made a crucial contribution to the preservation of the sovereignty of his country.
This act of terrorism has eliminated a key Afghan leader who had repeatedly expressed his readiness to take part in negotiations towards a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.� Both the method and the apparent involvement of non-Afghan elements in this crime further complicate the efforts of the international community to end the conflict.
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