‘Significant evidence’ UN boss’s plane was shot down
Former secretary general Dag Hammarskjold’s 1961 death has remained a mystery
There is a “significant amount of evidence” a plane carrying then UN boss Dag Hammarskjold, which crashed in central Africa in 1961, was brought down by another aircraft, a new UN report has claimed.
According to The Guardian, the report delivered to current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month includes previously undisclosed information provided by the American, British, Belgian, Canadian and German governments.
The new claims centre on classified radio intercepts recorded by the US and UK governments in the area at the time. They appear to point to the involvement of another aircraft in the crash.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The report's author, former Tanzanian chief justice Mohamed Chande Othman, was said to be “indebted for the assistance that he received, which uncovered a large amount of valuable new information”, the paper reports.
Hammarskjold, a Swedish diplomat who was appointed head of the UN in 1953, was on a mission to the Congo to broker a peace deal in the Katanga region following a rebellion backed by mining interests and European mercenaries when his plane crashed, killing him and 15 others.
A British inquiry at the time pointed to pilot error and a 1962 UN commission reached an open verdict. However, the crash remains one of aviation's biggest unsolved cases and, following numerous private investigations, a 2015 UN panel agreed there was enough new material to warrant reopening the case.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Donald Trump’s week in Asia: can he shift power away from China?Today's Big Question US president’s whirlwind week of diplomacy aims to bolster economic ties and de-escalate trade war with China
-
The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
-
Mall World: why are people dreaming about a shopping centre?Under The Radar Thousands of strangers are dreaming about the same thing and no one sure why
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Gaza genocide: will UN ruling change anything?Today's Big Question Commission of inquiry’s findings ‘give unprecedented weight’ to genocide claims
-
Why ‘anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid sitesIn The Spotlight Members of Infidels MC, who regard themselves as modern Crusaders, among private security guards at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish