NGOs fearful in wake of UNAMA retreat

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Non-governmental organizations worry the relocation of U.N. staffers from Afghanistan could influence their safety and the viability of their projects.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan last week announced the temporary relocation of some of its staff due to security risks. Kai Eide, the U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, stressed at a Kabul news conference, however, that the relocation should not be seen as an evacuation.

The decision follows an attack on a U.N. guesthouse in Kabul that left five international staffers dead.

NGOs and their staffers tell the U.N. humanitarian news agency, IRIN, that the UNAMI decision is troublesome.

"Scaling down the U.N.'s presence is very worrying for all Afghans and in particular NGOs, because they will become softer targets for the armed opposition," said Khial Shah, head of the Agency for Rehabilitation and Energy Conservation in Afghanistan.

The IRIN report said local staffers are often the target of killings and kidnappings more so than their U.N. counterparts. As many as 18 NGO staffers were killed and six were wounded in attacks during the first nine months of 2009.

U.N. officials, however, pledged to maintain their commitment to Afghanistan and to the mission there.

There are more than 1,000 international and 4,000 national U.N. staffers in Afghanistan.