French woman first UN member to be shot dead in Afghanistan

A FRENCH woman working for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was shot dead yesterday in the Afghan town of Ghazni when two men on a motorcycle opened fire on her vehicle with a pistol.

Her death was the first among UN international staff in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban to US-led forces two years ago.

Local authorities in the town to the southwest of the capital Kabul have arrested two gunmen and said they believed the killers were rebels from the ousted Taliban regime which has staged a comeback in parts of the country in recent months.