Security chief resigns over Algiers bombing

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. security chief resigned Tuesday over recent terror blasts in Algeria that killed 17 U.N. staffers — responding to a report that found weaknesses in the world organization’s overall security operations.

The report by an expert panel concluded that there was “ample evidence that several staff members up and down the hierarchy may have failed to respond adequately to the Algiers attack, both before and after the tragedy,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

The bombings at U.N. offices and another government building in December killed 17 U.N. staffers and injured 40 others, many seriously.

David Veness, the U.N.’s undersecretary-general for security and safety, voluntarily offered his resignation.

“The report recognizes that risk management is not consistently understood or applied,” Ban said.

Other key problems mentioned by the panelists were the security department’s “inadequate management” and the General Assembly budget committee’s “compromises ... to reduce costs and set priorities” for the department.

The Algiers attack was the deadliest single act of aggression against U.N. staff and facilities since August 2003, when the world body’s headquarters in Baghdad was hit by a truck laden with explosives, killing 22 people including the top U.N. envoy in Iraq.