UN pulls half its staff out of Afghanistan

Kabul: The United Nations said yesterday it would evacuate hundreds of its international staff from Afghanistan for several weeks due to deteriorating security, a sharp blow for Western efforts to stabilise the country.

Spokesman Aleem Siddique said the United Nations would relocate about 600 of its roughly 1,100 international staff, with some being moved to safer sites within Afghanistan and the rest withdrawn from the country temporarily.

The move, a week after five UN foreign staff members were killed by militants in Kabul, complicates US President Barack Obama's counter-insurgency war strategy, which foresees an influx of civilian assistance alongside extra troops.

Obama is due to decide within weeks whether to approve a request from his commander in Afghanistan for tens of thousands of additional troops.

The United Nations said the evacuations would not disrupt its operations in the country.