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International UN staff to return to Iraq Monday: UNHCI chief
Amman, April 12: The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNHCI) announced here that a group of international UN staff will return to northern Iraq on Monday.
Amman, April 12: The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNHCI) announced here that a group of international UN staff will return to northern Iraq on Monday.
"International UN staff will be going back Monday to the
Governorates of Dohuk, Arbil and Sulaymaniyah," Ramiro Lopes
da Silva told a news conference in Amman today.
"We intend to have around 13 international staff going to each governorate and then we will gradually expand our presence in the south and we will also establish a presence Monday in the western part of Iraq," Lopes da Silva said.
But Lopes da Silva warned the US and British coalition must first assume their responsibilities under the Geneva Convention and restore law and order in Iraq in exchange for the full return of UN staff there.
"In the last few days the coalition forces failed to fulfill those responsibilities and we have been appealing that this situation should be redressed quickly," he said.
"From our humanitarian perspective, we are extremely concerned by what we think is anarchy and chaos now in the main urban centers of Iraq," Lopes da Silva stressed.
"We are extremely concerned that the present state of lack and law and order in urban centers may spill over .. and move from a situation of looting to a situation of score settling, which will have extremely damaging consequences for the Iraqi society," he said.
He reported incidents of vengeance Thursday and yesterday in the northern city of Mosul but gave no details.
Meanwhile UN teams who will start moving back into Iraq, after their pullout on March 18 two days before the war was launched, will focus on restoring basic social services to the Iraqi population in the short-term, he said. Bureau Report
"We intend to have around 13 international staff going to each governorate and then we will gradually expand our presence in the south and we will also establish a presence Monday in the western part of Iraq," Lopes da Silva said.
But Lopes da Silva warned the US and British coalition must first assume their responsibilities under the Geneva Convention and restore law and order in Iraq in exchange for the full return of UN staff there.
"In the last few days the coalition forces failed to fulfill those responsibilities and we have been appealing that this situation should be redressed quickly," he said.
"From our humanitarian perspective, we are extremely concerned by what we think is anarchy and chaos now in the main urban centers of Iraq," Lopes da Silva stressed.
"We are extremely concerned that the present state of lack and law and order in urban centers may spill over .. and move from a situation of looting to a situation of score settling, which will have extremely damaging consequences for the Iraqi society," he said.
He reported incidents of vengeance Thursday and yesterday in the northern city of Mosul but gave no details.
Meanwhile UN teams who will start moving back into Iraq, after their pullout on March 18 two days before the war was launched, will focus on restoring basic social services to the Iraqi population in the short-term, he said. Bureau Report