U.N. withdraws some staff from Syria

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The United Nations announced Wednesday it is temporarily withdrawing some staff from Syria in light of the government's violent crackdown on demonstrators.

Michael Williams, the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, said 26 non-essential international staff and their families are being relocated from Syria, the United Nations said in a release.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has spoken out in recent days against the crackdown, in which as many as 2,000 people have been killed in the last five months.