EU staff face Brussels move over Kabul works
(KABUL) - Staff working for the European Union in Kabul are being forced to move back to Brussels due to building work at their compound in the Afghan capital, officials said Thursday.
The move could leave the European Union with only a skeleton staff in Kabul while other diplomats shuttle in and out from Brussels, from where they will be expected to continue their work.
Luc Vandebon, deputy head of the EU delegation, said that "structural work" on housing at the compound "will result in us having to send a number of our staff on a temporary mission to Brussels and continue their work there."
He said he did not know how long the work would take and how many staff would be affected, although they are expected to move as soon as possible.
"People have to be able to live in humane conditions in these houses," he added.
But a Western official speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity said that 24 out of 35 expatriate employees would be moving back to Brussels and that the move had been forced by a security upgrade.
"The compound is not secure. It's a security issue," the official said. "Why they moved here in the first place, I have no idea."
The official said the staff would be relocated before Christmas.
The Afghan capital has been struck by a series of high-profile attacks on Western and government targets this year that has fanned perceptions the city is becoming less safe.