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24/11/2003
UN may reduce staff in Afghanistan following attacks
The UN mission in Afghanistan is considering downsizing its staff in the south, southeast and east of the country following a recent spate of attacks.
The revelation follows on from a helicopter crash near Bagram airbase in which five US soldiers died yesterday. The cause of the crash is not yet known, and US authorities are still investigating.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last week withdrew 30 international staff from the border area and closed reception centres in four provinces after a French national working for the agency was shot and killed in Ghazni city.
At the time Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the UN was already taking new steps to protect staff that would involve changes in the way the world body works in Afghanistan as it seeks to continue its operations there.
The UN assessment follows on from the killing of an international staff member, and any such move will be measured against the projects and operations in progress.
“We are looking at how best our operations can continue with a reduced presence if that is warranted,” a spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told a briefing in the Afghan capital of Kabul yesterday.
“In certain cases, if it demands a low presence, we are looking at how those operations can continue,” spokesman David Singh said.
“These are temporary measures to lower visibility until the situation is reassessed again in probably another two weeks.”
(gmcg)
The revelation follows on from a helicopter crash near Bagram airbase in which five US soldiers died yesterday. The cause of the crash is not yet known, and US authorities are still investigating.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last week withdrew 30 international staff from the border area and closed reception centres in four provinces after a French national working for the agency was shot and killed in Ghazni city.
At the time Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the UN was already taking new steps to protect staff that would involve changes in the way the world body works in Afghanistan as it seeks to continue its operations there.
The UN assessment follows on from the killing of an international staff member, and any such move will be measured against the projects and operations in progress.
“We are looking at how best our operations can continue with a reduced presence if that is warranted,” a spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told a briefing in the Afghan capital of Kabul yesterday.
“In certain cases, if it demands a low presence, we are looking at how those operations can continue,” spokesman David Singh said.
“These are temporary measures to lower visibility until the situation is reassessed again in probably another two weeks.”
(gmcg)
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