The UN on 25 September announced that it was to further reduce the number of staff serving in Iraq. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said nearly all of the 42 international staff in Baghdad and the 44 staff in northern Iraq will be temporarily re-deployed to Amman. 'This is not an evacuation, just a further downsizing, and the security situation in the country remains in constant review,' the UN said in a statement. 'Meanwhile our essential humanitarian activities in Iraq continue, thanks to the efforts of our more than 4,000 national staff in the country.'
The UN has been the target of two bomb attacks in recent weeks in Iraq. At least 20 people were killed and scores wounded when a car bomb was detonated outside the UN compound in Baghdad on 19 August. The UN's top official in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was among those killed in the attack. A suicide bomber killed one and injured eight in an attack on the Baghdad headquarters on 22 September (MEED 22:9:03).
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