UN evacuate all non-essential staff from Beirut

The UN is evacuating all non-essential staff from Beirut because of the Israeli military strikes on Lebanon, the world body’s refugee agency said today.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is closely monitoring the situation and staff on the ground report that the thousands fleeing to Syria are “overwhelmingly” Syrian nationals working temporarily in Lebanon, said spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis.

“Non-essential UN staff are being evacuated from Beirut,” Pagonis said. “Essential UNHCR staff remain on the ground.”

Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said all 400 international UN staff in Lebanon, as well as 88 visitors, had been accounted for and were safe. UNHCR is also trying to monitor the situation of some 20,000 Iraqi and Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in Lebanon, Pagonis said.

UNHCR has already evacuated seven non-essential staff and family members and three more should leave today.

UNHCR staff of Lebanese origin are in the process of compiling a preliminary needs assessment, she added.