Romania pulls out some of its troops from Iraq after U.N. mission ends

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romania has begun pulling 99 of its troops from southern Iraq after the United Nations mission they were protecting ended, an official said Thursday.

Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Florin Jipa said 89 soldiers have been pulled out and 10 more will be withdrawn on May 3.

"The soldiers were guarding United Nations officials and as the U.N. is withdrawing there is nothing left to guard," Jipa told The Associated Press. He said a U.N. temporary office in Basra, where the soldiers were, was closed down in recent weeks.

Romania has 500 more troops in Iraq as part of the multinational coalition. Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu has called for withdrawing them before the end of the year, but the decision has to be made by the Supreme Defense Council, which is chaired by the president.

President Traian Basescu, who is staunchly pro-American, has opposed withdrawal, but he has been suspended pending a referendum on May 19 on alleged constitutional abuses.