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KABUL – The United Nations mission in Afghanistan is relocating hundreds of staff members, many of them to posts outside the country.
The move comes after last week’s attack on a U.N. guesthouse in Kabul that killed five members of its international staff.
The U.N. decision was another sign of the Taliban’s ability to use violence against civilians to curtail humanitarian and development work in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
International staff from many aid organizations, both private and public, have limited their movements and activities as attacks on civilians have spiked in the region.
The United Nations has about 1,100 international staff in Afghanistan, and about 600 of them will be moved to more secure locations, said Aleem Siddique, a U.N. spokesman.
“There’s going to be a lot of upheaval, but the priority has to be the safety of the staff,” Siddique said.
U.N. officials said they hoped the relocations would be temporary, lasting four to six weeks while they develop tighter security measures.
They said they do not plan to stop aid programs but rather move non-essential employees such as administrative personnel and financial staff.
The Oct. 28 attack on the guesthouse, one of more than 90 such U.N. houses in Kabul, was carried out by three men with suicide belts, rifles and grenades.
Eight people died in the dawn raid before the attackers were killed by security forces. The assault was organized by the Taliban faction led by Jalaluddin Haqqani along with an al-Qaida operative, according to Afghan intelligence officials.
Six people were arrested in connection with the case.
Since that morning, the United Nations has enacted strict security measures for its employees, including a restriction on staffers leaving their homes.
Other private companies in Kabul also evacuated their foreign staffs.
In southern Afghanistan on Thursday, the U.S. military confronted potentially inflammatory allegations that a missile attack aimed at insurgents killed nine civilians, including children.
The single rocket, fired at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, landed in Babaji village in Helmand Province and targeted a group of nine people believed to be planting a bomb, the U.S. military said in a statement.
The military said it was not aware of civilians in the area but was investigating.
