Baghdad has expelled eight UN staffers so far in September for harming the nation's security, the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad al-Duri, said Friday.
"The number of UN employees Iraq has expelled during the month of September stands at eight," Duri said, quoted by AFP.
"They were expelled for carrying out activities affecting Iraq's national security," he said.
Duri said Thursday his government had evidence to prove that four Nigerian men and one Bosnian woman employed by the UN oil-for-food program in Baghdad had been spying.
"This is spying, a clear-cut position in our opinion," Duri said Thursday, adding that Iraq had expelled several other UN staff in recent months.
Asked to confirm that the five were accused of spying, he replied: "They are and we have all evidence," he said, adding: "We will prove that soon, I hope."
The five "know exactly what they did and the states who are behind them know exactly what was done and how Iraq was damaged," he said.
Asked to name the states, he replied: "The United States maybe is behind those people," but later said: "Those five people for the United States."
The United Nations said Iraq failed to substantiate its claim but the personnel were withdrawn for safety reasons.
UN officials in New York said Wednesday that a sixth employee had been expelled for taking photographs in public, reported The Associated Press.
The officials said the staffer, a Dutch national, had worked for the Swiss company Cotecna, which is subcontracted by the United Nations to inspect freight at entry points into Iraq.
An Iraqi Foreign Ministry official told The Associated Press that the Dutch UN employee was expelled on Friday Aug. 31.
"The Dutch employee did not abide by Iraqi laws and violated his status as an international employee," the Iraqi official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The United Nations monitors Iraq's oil sales and the use of the proceeds to buy food, medicine and other necessities for ordinary Iraqis. Iraq chafes at the oil-for-food program as a violation of its independence.
Under UN resolutions, sanctions on Iraqi trade can be lifted only after Baghdad proves to the United Nations that it has dismantled its weapons of mass destruction. The sanctions were imposed to punish Iraq for invading Kuwait in 1990 – Albawaba.com
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