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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (31108)	11/6/2003 11:50:45 AM
From: Rick Faurot	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

UN Pulls Out Last of Foreign Staff from Baghdad Thu November 6, 2003 10:27 AM ET By Evelyn Leopold UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations announced on Thursday it had withdrawn the last of its 20 foreign staff in Baghdad but about 40 international employees still remained in northern Iraq. "As of today, all U.N. international staff have been temporarily relocated out of Baghdad," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said. The group has gone to Larnaca, Cyprus, where they will begin talks next week with U.N. security officials about whether or when they would return to the Iraqi capital. The move by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to pull out staff was prompted by last week's suicide bombings against the International Committee of the Red Cross office and four Iraqi police stations in Baghdad. At least 34 people died, 12 of them from the Red Cross, and 200 were wounded. The attack against the Red Cross was the bloodiest on an international organization since a truck bomb devastated U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on Aug. 19, killing 22 people. The bombings have shocked the foreign aid community and stirred concerns about whether U.S.-led coalition forces could bring order to the country. Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, has also withdrawn its staff. The Aug. 19 attack against U.N. headquarters resulted in a sharp reduction of U.N. foreign staff, estimated at 350 to 550 in Baghdad. On Tuesday, Annan put on leave two senior security officials while the bombing continues to be investigated. Annan had come under heavy pressure from senior officials as well as the U.N. staff union, representing some 5,000 employees around the world, to pull everyone out. But he has had to balance safety concerns with the need to keep a U.N. presence at a time when countries are pressing for the world body to play a political role in Iraq. An Oct. 15 Security Council resolution gave the United Nations a role in the country's transition, although not a central one.