- News>
- World
UN to withdraw up to half expatriate staff by weekend
Amman, Aug 22: The United Nations expects to have withdrawn as much as half of its expatriate staff from Iraq by the weekend as the evacuation of employees following this week`s truck bombing of its Baghdad headquarters proceeds in earnest.
Amman, Aug 22: The United Nations expects to have withdrawn as much as half of its expatriate staff from Iraq by the weekend as the evacuation of employees following this
week's truck bombing of its Baghdad headquarters proceeds in earnest.
"We are reducing drastically at the moment," UN coordinator in Jordan Christine Mcnab told an Amman press conference, adding that "30 to 50 percent" of foreign staff were expected to be out of Baghdad by the weekend.
Mcnab stressed that the world body had no intention of abandoning Iraq and even had a "small number of key staff. Flying into Iraq to support the heads of offices in Baghdad". "We are not withdrawing from Baghdad. We will keep a core team there. They will be doing humanitarian and reconstruction work and they will also continue their work to help build up the new administration of Iraq."
Mcnab said a top priority remained the evacuation of casualties from Tuesday's bombing, which killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 100.
"A royal Jordanian C130 airforce medical evacuation plane will take off from Amman and will be back here this afternoon with 20 stretcher cases on board and about eight walking wounded." She said the injured would be cared for at Jordan's royal military hospital until they were fit to be flown home.
Another flight out of Baghdad was due to bring 16 other UN staff to Amman, where some 150 UN staff have already arrived since the devastating bombing of their headquarters. More flights were expected in Amman on Saturday.
Bureau Report
Mcnab stressed that the world body had no intention of abandoning Iraq and even had a "small number of key staff. Flying into Iraq to support the heads of offices in Baghdad". "We are not withdrawing from Baghdad. We will keep a core team there. They will be doing humanitarian and reconstruction work and they will also continue their work to help build up the new administration of Iraq."
Mcnab said a top priority remained the evacuation of casualties from Tuesday's bombing, which killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 100.
"A royal Jordanian C130 airforce medical evacuation plane will take off from Amman and will be back here this afternoon with 20 stretcher cases on board and about eight walking wounded." She said the injured would be cared for at Jordan's royal military hospital until they were fit to be flown home.
Another flight out of Baghdad was due to bring 16 other UN staff to Amman, where some 150 UN staff have already arrived since the devastating bombing of their headquarters. More flights were expected in Amman on Saturday.
Bureau Report