Two senior international officials in Afghanistan accused of having met members of the Taliban in Helmand province have been expelled from the country.
The Irish Deputy Head of the EU mission, Michael Semple, and a senior British UN official, Mervyn Patterson, who is from Northern Ireland, were at the centre of a political and diplomatic row following the allegation.
It has been described as a misunderstanding by the UN.
The expulsions have caused a diplomatic row between the Afghan government and key aid agencies who fear the loss of two such experienced hands could hinder reconstruction and development efforts.
UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said the UN staffer left this morning on a regular charter flight to neighbouring Pakistan.
Diplomats in Kabul confirmed the EU official was on the same flight.
Both men have lived and worked in Afghanistan for more than a decade during the rule of the Taliban that was toppled by the US-led invasion in 2001.
