Chadian official killed in attack against aid vehicle: UNHCR

A vehicle bearing the UN refugee agency logo was attacked Saturday by armed bandits who killed a Chadian government official onboard, the agency said Tuesday.

"UNHCR is deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic killing. This is the 51st armed attack on a humanitarian vehicle in eastern Chad this year alone," said Andrej Mahecic, spokesman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Michel Mitna, head of the Chadian government refugee body CNAR, was killed in the vehicle, which was "clearly marked with the CNAR and UNHCR logos," while his driver was wounded.

The vehicles was on loan from UNHCR, Mahecic said.

Chadian Interior Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir vowed to track down Mitna's killers.

"We are making every effort to find these bandits and we will get our hands on them," he told AFP.

Bachir added that Chad had lost a "high-level humanitarian worker" with Mitna's killing.

The attack followed another incident last week, when five staff working for French non-governmental group Premiere Urgence, were kidnapped while travelling in a convoy.

"The bandits only freed the kidnapped staff when their hijacked vehicle was involved in an accident," said the UNCHR's Mahecic, adding that two of the five aid workers are still in hospital in N'Djamena.