SG/SM/9435
            2 August 2004

Secretary-General Condemns Bombings in Tashkent

NEW YORK, 30 July (UN Headquarters) -- The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General expresses his strong dismay at today’s series of bombings against the Embassies of the United States and Israel, as well as the Office of the Prosecutor General, in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.  Reportedly, two people were killed and about a dozen were injured in the attacks.

The Secretary-General condemns these criminal acts in the strongest terms. Targeting of diplomatic missions and civilians is a crime that cannot be justified by any cause.

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