DHAKA, Bangladesh, March 15 (UPI) -- Washington has suspended its Peace Crops operations in Bangladesh because of safety concerns.
The Bush administration is concerned about the safety of the U.S. volunteers in the wake of the capture of five top Jamaatul Mujahidin Bangladesh militant leaders, believing that Peace Corps members might be targeted in retaliation.
The U.S. embassy in Dhaka Wednesday released a statement noting, "The Peace Corps in Washington has decided to suspend indefinitely its programs in Bangladesh due to the possibility that terrorist might attack its Volunteers in Bangladesh, perhaps in retaliation for the recent capture of five of the seven top JMB leaders. Peace Corps made this decision following a careful assessment of Bangladesh's prevailing security environment and did not base its conclusions on any single threat or incident. We have welcomed the capture of Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai of the JMB as significant steps forward in the campaign against terrorism and extremism. One consequence of that success is concern over possible reprisal against Americans or other Western nationals by the JMB activists still at large."
The Peace Crops currently has 71 volunteers in Bangladesh.
