UN moves dozens of staff out of Baghdad: spokesman

The United Nations said today it was moving dozens of employees out of Baghdad as a precaution due to the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

A spokesman said 58 of the 200 international staff working for the UN in and around Baghdad “are being relocated
temporarily to other areas” outside the capital.

The staff were taken to the Jordanian capital Amman today, with the ultimate goal to be to move them again to Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region, said the spokesman, Farhan Haq.

Some other relocations may also take place in the next few days,” Haq said. “The situation has changed on the ground and we are adjusting our posture accordingly.”

Haq insisted that the UN mission would continue working in Iraq despite the eruption of fighting between jihadists and security forces.