Afghanistan, Oct. 6 -- Benon Sevan, the veteran United Nations diplomat who played a key role in the organisation's efforts to broker a political settlement in Afghanistan during the final years of the Soviet-backed government, has died at the age of 88.
Sevan died in Nicosia, Cyprus, on October 5, according to reports from the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), which described him as a mentor and a tireless defender of Armenian cultural heritage. Born in Nicosia in 1937, Sevan joined the United Nations in 1965 and held a series of senior diplomatic positions.
His direct involvement in the Afghan conflict began in April 1988, when he was appointed a senior political adviser to the UN Secretary-General's representative on Afghanista...