Charity chief kidnapped in Baghdad

A director of an international charity in Iraq was kidnapped as she was being driven to work in Baghdad today.

Margaret Hassan, a British-born Iraqi national, was abducted in the capital at 7.30am, CARE International UK said in London.

“As of now we are unaware of the motives for the abduction,” the statement said. “As far as we know, Margaret is unharmed.

A CARE employee said Mrs Hassan was abducted while she was being driven to work in a west Baghdad neighbourhood. The employee said CARE did not employ armed guards.

The charity said Mrs Hassan had been “providing humanitarian relief to the people of Iraq” for more than 25 years.

“Needless to say, we are doing whatever we can to secure her release,” the statement added. “But equally, it would be unhelpful for us to comment further at this time. Our overwhelming concern must be for Margaret’s safety.”

Mrs Hassan was born in Britain but became an Iraqi citizen, is married to an Iraqi and has lived in this country for 30 years.

Humanitarian organisations have not been spared from the violence sweeping Iraq.

Last year, the Iraq headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross was damaged in a vehicle bomb, and many non-governmental organisations have withdraw foreign staff because of the bombings and kidnappings of foreigners.

Insurgents in Iraq have kidnapped more than 150 foreigners in their campaign to drive out coalition forces.

Last month, Italian aid workers Simona Torretta and Simona Pari, both 29, were kidnapped from the offices of their aid agency, A Bridge To... in Baghdad. They were released in late September after three weeks in captivity. A one million dollar ransom was said to be have paid

In Amman, Jordan, Astrid van Genderen Stort, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said it was up to each non-governmental organisation whether to keep staff in Iraq.

“We, the UN decided last year not to have international presence anymore because we deemed the situation too dangerous for us,” she said. “The kidnapping of the Italian and Iraqi women only a while ago should have alerted others even more as to the dangers of operating in Iraq.”

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, said Mrs Hassan had spent 30 years in Iraq working “for the benefit of its people” and that British diplomats in Baghdad were in touch with CARE International about the case.

“Meanwhile, our thoughts and prayers go out to her, her family and her colleagues at what is a very anxious time,” he said.

British hostage Kenneth Bigley, who was working as a contractor in Iraq, was beheaded by his captors this month but his body has not been found.

CARE International has been active in Iraq since 1991 following the Gulf War and is the only international non-governmental organisation to have maintained continuous programmes in central and southern Iraq, according to the organisation’s Web site.

“Since 1991, CARE’s programmes have provided humanitarian assistance to over seven million people – one-third of the Iraqi population,” the Web site said. “CARE programmes focus on rebuilding, repairing and maintaining water and sanitation systems and rebuilding and refurbishing hospitals and clinics. Iraq presents special problems for humanitarian relief.”