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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Denmark Pulls Aid Workers Out of Iraq |
| 2004-04-13 |
| COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Two Danish relief groups said on Monday that they had pulled their workers out of Iraq because of increasing violence there. Five employees with the Danish Refugee Council left the southern Iraqi city of Basra over the weekend "because we fear the random violence," said Arne Vaagen, a spokesman for the Copenhagen-based group. Another Danish non-governmental organization, Dan Church Aid, said it had halted its mine-clearing program. The group employed 20 foreigners, including citizens from Sweden, Denmark, Britain, the Netherlands and Canada. They left Iraq late Sunday. Dan Church Aid said a separate water and sewage treatment program in southern Iraq wasn't affected because it is staffed by Iraqis. In a statement posted on its Web site, the Danish Foreign Ministry urged all civilian Danes to leave Iraq. "Terror attacks are not only directed at the coalition forces but also increasingly against civilian targets," a ministry statement said. "There is an increased risk for terror and for kidnappings of Westerners all over the country." Denmark, which backed the U.S.-led war to oust Saddam Hussein, has 410 troops in Basra and nearby Qurnah, 250 miles southeast of Baghdad. |
| Posted by:Steve White |