Azernews.Az

BAKU – The United Nations has reportedly named the Azerbaijani citizen appointed head of its mission in Mazar e Sharif, the capital of Afghanistan’s Balkh province, which has resumed work suspended four months ago after a deadly attack on its employees.

Namig Heydarov, 38, is taking the post, the Baku-based APA news agency quoted UN sources as saying.

Heydarov, a graduate of the Azerbaijan University of Foreign Languages, the United States’ Boston University and Moscow State Institute of International Relations, is an expert on international development and governance. Heydarov has been closely involved in UN operations in Central Asia and Afghanistan in recent years.

He has also worked for the Norwegian Refugee Council and other international humanitarian organizations. He has received numerous awards from the governments of Pakistan and Tajikistan for his relief work during natural disasters and emergencies.

The UN mission in Mazar e Sharif halted operation after angry protests across the Muslim world sparked by the burning of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, by a congregation at a Florida church, led by pastor Terry Jones, on March 20. Protesters broke into the UN compound and killed seven people. Russian diplomat Pavel Yershov, who headed the mission, was not hurt by mere accident.