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Red Cross scales back in S Lanka | Red Cross scales back in S Lanka |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has been told by Colombo to scale back in Sri Lanka. | |
"They have communicated that the war is now over," a spokesman told the BBC, referring to years of bloody conflict between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels. | |
The news comes amid continuing concern over the fate of hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the war. | The news comes amid continuing concern over the fate of hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the war. |
In the last months of fighting, tensions rose between the ICRC and the government over the fate of civilians. | |
The ICRC was the only outside agency with access to the area of combat, taking in aid and evacuating wounded people by ship. | |
Government troops defeated the rebels in the east in mid-May after months of heavy fighting. | |
The full scale of casualties is still disputed - hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and are now in government-run camps. | The full scale of casualties is still disputed - hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and are now in government-run camps. |
'Outstanding issues' | |
As a first step the ICRC says it is to pull staff out of the Eastern Province "while winding down operations in the area". | |
ICRC spokesman Simon Schorno told the BBC the ICRC had to respect the government's decision. | |
He said: "Two sub-delegations are closing, Batticaloa and Trincomalee. A total of 140 national staff and about 10 expatriates worked in these offices." | |
The Tamil Tigers were driven from Batticaloa and Trincomalee two years ago and the area has been relatively peaceful since then. | |
It is not clear what will happen to the ICRC's presence in other parts of the north and east which saw more recent fighting. | |
Mr Schorno said: "There are still outstanding issues which we will discuss with the government." |