UNITED NATIONS, August 28 (Itar-Tass) - U.N. personnel may be withdrawn from Syria by the end of the week in view of a possible military operation by Western countries, a source said on Wednesday, August 28.

Almost none of the U.N. staff would be left in Syria by the end of the week, except for the most essential personnel, the source in the U.N. Secretariat said.

He said this measure would not affect the U.N. peacekeepers deployed in the Golan Heights.