A car bomb has struck the UN offices in the Nigerian capital Abuja killing at least 18 people, police have said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon condemned the attack and warned that the casualty figures were “likely to be considerable”.
Mr Ban explained that 26 different UN agencies operated in the building, with around 400 staff.
“This was an assault on those who devoted their lives to helping others,” he said.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague added: “Around the world the UN works for peace, security and international cooperation and an attack on the UN is an attack on these principles.”
Mr Ban said he was dispatching Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Ro to lead a team to investigate the attack.
Witnesses said a car rammed through two sets of gates protecting the compound and drove towards the main building.
The suicide bomber then crashed into the reception before detonating the bomb.
An entire wing of the building was reportedly destroyed.
UN worker Ocilake Michael said: “We just saw the blast coming from the building. All the people in the basement were killed. Their bodies are littered all over the place.”
A worker for Unicef, Michael Ofilaje, added: “The blast came from the basement and shook the building.
“I saw scattered bodies… many people are dead.”
Police said the explosion occurred before 11am local time, in a region of the capital that is also home to the US embassy and a number of other diplomatic buildings.
In June, the radical Muslim sect of Boko Haram carried out a bombing at Nigeria’s federal police headquarters, killing two people.
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