Nneoma Ukeje-Eloagu
30 December 2003
Washington DC — United Nations Secretary-General,Mr. Kofi Annan, yesterday offered condolences to the bereaved families of all those killed in an aircrash on December 25 over the Republic of Benin, where more than a dozen United Nations peacekeepers were among the dead.
Two Bangladeshi soldiers working for the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and 13 from the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) were on board the Boeing 727, which crashed immediately after take-off near Cotonou.
Annan, in a statement released by his spokesman, said he was "deeply saddened" to learn the news of some 130 tragic deaths caused by the doomed flight and conveys his condolences to the bereaved families of the victims.
The Secretary-General took the occasion to voice his great appreciation for Bangladesh's "outstanding" contribution to UN peacekeeping operations.
The Bangladeshi peacekeepers traveling home for the holidays aboard the Union Transport African (UTA) plane were identified by UNAMSIL as Lt. Col. Shamsul Sayed Arefin, Maj. Abdur Rahim, Maj. Mir Abdul Baten, Maj. Mostafizur Rahman Sudari, Maj. Md Raunak Akhter, Maj. Mosharref Hossain, Maj. Intiazuddin Ahmed, Capt. Abdul Mabud, Capt. Zahidul Islam, Capt. Rakibul Hasan, Capt. Fariduddin Ahmed, Capt. Alauddin Sarder, Capt. Rafiqul Islam, Capt. Arifur Rahman Talukder and SWO Sharifqul Islam.
Citing Benin government figures, UNAMSIL said of the 161 passengers on board the plane, 21 survived and 131 bodies have so far been identified, while eight bodies remain missing. The French Embassy in Benin has provided 15 coffins in which the bodies are to be repatriated to Bangladesh, the Mission said. President Mathew Kerekou of Benin is expected to be at the airport Tuesday where a ceremony is being planned in honour of the dead peacekeepers.
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