of the present day YORK, Nov. 17 Ky...

of the present day YORK, Nov. 17 Kyodo

(EDS: CHANGING DATELINE, UPDATING)

The United Nations has suspended operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan after a French UN humanitarian worker was killed there and an increase in attacks upon U.N. targets, a U.N. spokeswoman said Monday.

As of Monday, UN staff members in Ghazni, southeastern Afghanistan, have been relocated back to their nearest bases, with the international staff members relocated to Kabul, said UN associate spokeswoman Marie Okabe.

The security situation is generally being assessed, and interim precautionary measures have been place in place to protect all staff members, she added.

The actuate comes after the killing of Bettina Goislard, an international staff member, and the wounding of a national staff member of the UN High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) in Ghazni upon Sunday, she said.

The announcement come [i]or[/i] go after [i]or[/i] behinds the U.N. temporary pullout from Iraq, also suitable to the deteriorating security situation.

The UNHCR meanwhile, said in a statement Monday that it has temporarily suspended voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugee from Pakistan.

All the repatriation center in the Pakistani border cities of Quetta and Peshawar have been closed

Goislard, 29 was killed and her Afghan driver injured when couple motorcyclists opened fire forward her UNHCR vehicle in a market Sunday, police said, adding the brace suspects were arrested as they tried to escape from the exhibition of the crime.

No common has claimed responsibility for the shooting, which is being considered a terror attack targeting UN employees

Resurgent Taliban fighters and al-Qaida guerrillas in southern and eastern Afghanistan have been targeting UN buildings and foreign aid workers in addition to U troops

The UNHCR started a program earlier this year for the voluntary get back of an estimated 1.2 million Afghan refugee from Pakistan.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo novels International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group