Sri Lankan asks UN aid workers to leave LTTE-held areas
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, Sept 10, IRNA
Sri Lanka-UN-Aid Workers to Leave
United Nations on Tuesday said it was withdrawing its staff from rebel-held territory in North Sri Lanka following the Sri Lankan government's decision banning all foreign aid workers from the area.
Lankan Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said all foreign workers have been asked to leave to ensure their safety because of the raging civil war, Doordarshan news website reported.
"The government has an obligation to ensure the safety and security of all those undertaking humanitarian and other work there," he said, "so the steps have now been taken for this."
These organizations have been asked to continue their relief work by relocating their operations to the humanitarian hubs established in the government-held areas in Vavuniya.
The minister announced that the government will ensure that the Internally Displaced Persons in Kilinochchi will continue to be looked after by official agencies.
More than 160,000 people have been displaced in northern Sri Lanka in the heavy fighting between government troops and tiger rebels.
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