Wednesday, September 12 4:49 PM SGT

UN to withdraw international staff from Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD, Sept 12 (AFP) - The United Nations said Wednesday it was temporarily pulling its foreign staff out of Afghanistan following a wave of terrorist attacks in the United States.

Without referring to the attacks in New York and Washington on Tuesday, the Pakistan-based office of the UN coordinator for Afghanistan said its international staff were "temporarily relocating".

"Due to the circumstances prevailing internationally, the United Nations system in Afghanistan is temporarily relocating international United Nations staff working in Afghanistan," it said in a statement.

"The relocation of up to 80 international staff began on September 12 and is expected to be completed by September 13.

"United Nations humanitarian agencies hope that activities can continue as normal so that critical pre-winter relief work can be completed."

Aid workers also said non-governmental organisations had already started pulling workers out of the Afghan capital on orders from their headquarters abroad.

They said safety concerns were paramount following a helicopter gunship attack by anti-Taliban opposition forces on the Kabul airport early Wednesday morning.

That attack sparked fears of US missile strikes against alleged terrorist camps in Afghanistan run by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, one of the key suspects in the terror attacks in New York and Washington on Tuesday.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2001

Answers

Wednesday, September 12 4:41 PM SGT

US embassies shut down in the Middle East after attacks

AMMAN, Sept 12 (AFP) - US embassies in the Middle East closed down Wednesday following deadly attacks in the United States, or opened only for essential business.

In Amman an embassy source said, "The embassy is open for essential business only."

Security cars patrolled the streets around the fortress-like embassy compound in western Amman where armoured vehicles and anti-riot police vans were also stationed Wednesday.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan (JABA) meanwhile postponed the opening later Wednesday of an American-Jordanian conference and exhibition until further notice, the organisation said in a press statement.

In neighbouring Syria an embassy official said, "the embassy is closed for one day in order to reassess our security posture".

Syrian police stationed every five metres (yards) ringed the embassy building in Damascus from late Tuesday.

A hunger strike by dozens of young Palestinians outside a United Nations office a few hundred metres from the US embassy was also called off at the behest of the Syrian authorites, a Palestinian source said.

Most US embassies throughout the Gulf region also closed in the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, diplomatic sources said.

"The Embassy and Consulates General wish to advise the American community that on September 12, 2001 they will be open only for essential services," a statement from the US embassy in Riyadh said.

"Visa and American citizen services will be provided only on an emergency basis," it said, advising mission personnel to remain at home until further notice and asking that dependent children not to go to school.

The embassy, which was flying the US flag at half-mast, said the measures are being taken although no new information specific to US citizens in Saudi Arabia had been received.

The US embassy in Kuwait took "extraordinary precautions" and restricted its business to essential services only, while the US mission in Bahrain remained open.

Further afield, "the consulate in Dubai and embassy in Abu Dhabi are closed for today," embassy spokeswoman Katherine van de Vate told AFP.

"We have advised US citizens in the region to watch the media, remain vigilant with regard to their personal security and to exercise caution," she said.

In Yemen, itself the site of an attack in October 2000 on the US destroyer Cole in which 17 US sailors were killed in a suicide bombing, the US embassy "suspended services indefinitely and urged US citizens to exercise heightened caution."

The United States stations at least 20,000 troops in the Gulf, mainly in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and on ships based out of Bahrain, while tens of thousands of US civilians live and work in the region.

US forces on the peninsula were placed on the highest anti-terrorist alert, "Threatcon Delta", in July following what officials called a credible threat of attack by agents of suspected Saudi terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

US President George Bush said that US military personnel worldwide were on similar high alert after Tuesday's attacks, in which bin Laden is also a prime suspect, though he has denied involvement.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2001

Speaking of the UN--where are all the people from the racism conference? This was a racist attack. Anybody seen Jesse, by the way? Or Al Sharpton? Guess Louis Farrakhan is handing out sweets and jumping for joy, too.

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2001

Maybe they were in the buildings?

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2001