NAIROBI, 9 May 2008 (IRIN) - Unidentified gunmen killed an official of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Kenya's northwestern town of Lokichoggio on 7 May, in what the agency has described as the first killing of a WFP aid worker in the relief hub for Southern Sudan.

"We are all shocked at this savage killing of Silence Chirara and condemn it in the strongest terms," Kenro Oshidari, WFP Representative in Sudan, said in a statement. "UN Security and the Kenyan police are investigating this terrible crime."

The 37-year-old Chirara, a Zimbabwean, was the coordinator of WFP's logistics operations for Southern Sudan. In a statement issued in Nairobi on 9 May, WFP said Chirara's body had been flown to the Kenyan capital.

WFP said the gunmen who ambushed Chirara fired AK-47 assault rifles 100m from the main gate of the UN camp. After the attack, Chirara drove "on and his clearly marked UN vehicle hit a shipping container near the gate". The gunmen escaped.

Chirara was later pronounced dead at a clinic, the agency said. His vehicle was hit by seven AK-47 bullets on the left-hand side.

"In all the places that Silence served, he was an incredible source of comfort and help to his colleagues," Josette Sheeran, WFP Executive Director, was quoted as saying. "He was a valued logistics officer known to never step away from a challenge. This is a moment of great sorrow, for Silence's family, especially his wife and two children, friends and those at WFP who worked side-by-side with him over the years."

WFP said Chirara joined the agency in 1996 and had worked in Iraq, Guinea Bissau, Zimbabwe and Indonesia. He started working in Lokichoggio in March 2006.

During the civil war between North and South Sudan, WFP planes operating from Lokichoggio airdropped food to millions of people in desperate need across Southern Sudan. Since the war ended in 2005, WFP has reduced its air operations as roads were repaired but Lokichoggio remained an important relief hub and access route for aircraft and trucks delivering assistance into Sudan.

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