Sri Lanka: UN ‘appalled’ by ‘despicable’ attacks on aid organizations

A senior United Nations officer in Sri Lanka today called on the Government and rebels fighting in the north and east of the country to ensure the safety of all humanitarian aid organizations there following yesterday’s grenade attacks on three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the earlier shooting dearth of a Norwegian aid worker.

“The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka is appalled by the continuing despicable attacks on humanitarian workers in the north and east,” interim coordinator Amin Awad said in a statement.

“We strongly condemn these attacks which undermine the ability of the humanitarian community to freely conduct operations, and which instil fear into the thousands of men, women and children to whom we provide relief and assistance. These attacks must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice,” he added.

All parties must urgently halt the current escalation of violence which is affecting innocent civilians, and work urgently towards a peaceful solution to the current impasse, he declared.

Mr. Awad’s statement was but the latest in a string of recent UN expressions of alarm. Last week the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF warned that Sri Lankan children were falling victim to the renewed clashes between the Government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It noted that thousands of children had been displaced.

On Friday the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported that more than 1,000 Sri Lankans have fled to southern India since the beginning of the year, over and above the thousands displaced within the country. And 10 days weeks ago Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on both sides to “change course and bring the country back on a path to peace.”