NADER BUNERI AND SIKANDER SHAHEEN PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD - Zil-e-Usman, Senior Field Officer, United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and a security guard were killed while two clerks were injured when some unknown militants entered their office and fired at them in Kacha Garhi Refugee Camp on Thursday. Police officials while confirming the incident said that four armed persons boarding a white coloured car forcefully entered the office of UNHCR at 10:30am and tried to kidnap Senior Field Officer Zil-e-Usman. When security guard, Allauddin, offered resistance, the militants opened indiscriminate firing and resultantly killed Zil-e-Usman Khan and the security guard. Two others, Junior Clerk Naveed and Repatriation Clerk Ashfaq, were injured seriously in the gory incident. As per sources, the militants successfully managed to escape after committing the crime. Zill-e-Usman, 59, was a Pakistani national. He joined UNHCR in 1984. He was Chairman, UNHCR Staff Council, Peshawar. Kacha Garhi IDPs Camp is located in front of Hayat Abad, a posh locality of Peshawar. Red alert was declared all over the city and police launched a search operation in the area after the incident. However, no one has been arrested so far. Meanwhile, the United Nations has strongly condemned the gruesome killing of its staff member, said a UN official statement. Mr Zill-e-Usman, a Pakistani national was leaving the camp when his vehicle was attacked and a kidnapping attempt was made on him. He was shot several times in the chest and later died of wounds. Another UN staff travelling with him was slightly injured in the attack. The deceased Usman has left a wife and four children. The UN community in Pakistan is once again devastated to have had yet another of its staff member a victim of a brutal attack, said the UN Resident Coordinator Fikret Akcura and added, On behalf of the United Nations community in Pakistan, I strongly condemn this brutal killing, an unacceptable attack on our humanitarian workers. There is simply no cause or justification for this. Unfortunately this attack, as the previous one five weeks ago, underscores the difficult and dangerous circumstance we are working in and the risks our staff must take on a daily basis. I salute their dedication to their work in these difficult circumstances. We are determined to continue our humanitarian support to the Pakistani people and will continue our ongoing development work in spite of the daily difficulties and dangers we may face, the statement added. Despite the condemnation, the United Nations has refused to comment on the causes of the gruesome Peshawar killings saying it would be too early to offer any judgement in this regard. Although this has been a very grave incident but it would be premature to presume about the factors behind it. Whenever such kind of incident takes places, the UN carries out detailed investigations to find out the actual cause, said Stephanie Bunker, Spokesperson, UNOCHA while talking to TheNation. We have been conducting high level meetings and anything could only be said once we are sure what reasons contributed to the emergence of this situation, she added. Replying to a query regarding any possibility of the closure of operations in Peshawar in the wake of repeated attacks on the UN officials, Stephanie said that no such plan was on the cards currently. The UN officials are working like they were working in the past, I cant say anything about the future, she added. Contradictory statements kept floating from the UN circles here regarding the nature of the incident. Initially, the UN officials told the journalists that a UN official was killed in a kidnapping bid in Peshawar. Later, the officials suspected the possibility of target killing and expressed their inability to elaborate on the details of the incident any further. Sources in the UNHCR wishing not to be named, said that the recent killings could be a backlash of the ongoing military operation against the miscreants. Peshawar has close proximity to the affected region which could be the reason why the UN officials have been targeted twice in the last few weeks here, said a UN official.