Attack Will Not End U.N. Somalia Mission, Assures Ban Spokesman

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon is outraged by an attack Wednesday on a U.N. compound in Somalia which left at least eight U.N. staff and contractors dead but the mission will "not be deterred," his spokesman said.

Ban telephoned Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud soon after the attack on the U.N. base in Mogadishu, said U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky in a statement.

"The secretary general said the United Nations would not be deterred from delivering its mandate," said Nesirky in a statement released from Beijing where Ban is on an official visit.

"The secretary general said he was deeply concerned and outraged by the despicable attack against the United Nations," he said.

"He urged the president to ensure U.N. staff are protected and to coordinate closely with the African Union Mission in Somalia and his special representative in Mogadishu."

Nicholas Kay, a British diplomat only started as the U.N. envoy to Somalia on June 3 to head the mission that had previously been based in Nairobi because of the threat from Islamist guerrillas in Mogadishu.

U.N. sources said Kay was not injured in the attack by Islamist militant suicide bombers and attackers.