Statement on attack on the British Council office in Kabul
19 August 2011
We are deeply saddened by the events that have taken place in Kabul and our thoughts are with the families of those injured or killed in this appalling attack.
We are unable to confirm the number of casualties at this time.
We know that when the attack took place, two British Council teachers – one British, one South African – and a British bodyguard were in the compound and are now secure.
We have 25 Afghan appointed staff, none of whom are based at the compound and none of whom are physically affected by the incident. The British Council is extremely grateful to the Afghan and international forces who secured our staff.
Our work in Kabul and elsewhere in the country makes a vital contribution not just to building post-conflict Afghanistan but also to creating relationships of trust between the people of Afghanistan and the UK.
We are working with international partners and the Afghan government to contribute to the development of the next generation of leaders in Afghanistan.
We work in education to give them the skills they need to contribute to the development and economic well-being of post-transitional Afghanistan.
Young Afghans want to be part of the wider world and they demand these skills, including English language to be able to do this.
This attack must not and will not stop us from giving young Afghans the support they need to be part of that wider world.
For further information, please contact the press office.
T +44 (0)20 7389 4871
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. We work in over 100 countries in the arts, education and English and in 2010/11 we engaged face to face with 30 million people and reached 578 million. We have 6,800 staff worldwide. Our total turnover in 2010/11 was £693 million, of which our grant-in-aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was £190 million. The remainder was generated through trading activities such as English language teaching. For every £1 of taxpayer money invested we earn £2.65 in additional income.
For more information, please visit: http://www.britishcouncil.org
