Irish soldiers to be evacuated from Kuwait

Five Irish soldiers who were part of a UN mission monitoring the Iraq-Kuwait border are due to be evacuated from Kuwait in the coming days.

The UN mission was suspended on Monday after US President George W Bush gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave the country or face war.

More than 200 observers have since been moved from the border posts to Kuwait City and are due to return to their home bases in the coming days.