By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 9 July 2014:
A number of staff from the UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) are . . .[restrict]in the process of being withdrawn from their posts over security concerns.
UNSMIL spokesman Samir Ghattas told the Libya Herald that several dozen staff were leaving the UN mission from across its different departments. He said adequate numbers of personnel would remain in place to run UNSMIL’s operations and the measures would be changed depending on security within the country.
Ghattas said the UN had taken the decision solely on the basis of security conditions over the past few months in conduct with its internal guidelines. UNSMIL operations had already been reduced to the capital over security issues.
Yesterday, the spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Stephane Dujarric, announced that the UN would be reducing the number of its staff in Libya, owing to the prevailing security trends.
Ghattas said further UN security members were expected to arrive in Libya following the deployment of a security force earlier this year. “The situation will be reviewed very regularly and has been under careful consideration,” he said.
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