United Nations staff that left Afghanistan because of
worsening security are set to begin returning to Kabul by March 8, according to
an internal U.N. memo obtained by Matthew Lee, the U.N. blogger at Inner City Press.
The U.N. evacuated several hundred staff out the country following an Oct. 28
Taliban attack on the Bakhtar Guest House, which housed U.N. staff. Five U.N.
workers were killed in the attack, the worst in the U.N.'s history in
Afghanistan, triggering a major review of U.N. security policy.
The memo says that 30 secure new housing units will be ready by the end of the
month, and that an additional 50 will be prepared by April. The memo also
states that the U.N. mission in Afghanistan is struggling to overcome a crisis
of morale following the country's controversial elections and a slew of staff
defections.
"At the beginning of the year with the 2010 budget coming into effect, UNAMA
had a vacancy rate of 44%," the memo stated. "The situation had reached a point
where the SRSG felt obliged to alert the Security Council that if the staffing
back log were to continue, UNAMA would not be able to implement key elements of
its mandate."
Most of the new housing will be situated in the main
U.N. compound some 20 minutes from the center of Kabul. Although the new
arrangement is designed to enhance security, the memo acknowledged that housing
so many U.N. officials outside the center of Kabul would increase the risk of
attack during their commute to town.
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