Sri Lanka: Civilians cross lines
22-08-2006 News Release 06/50
On 21 and 22 August the ICRC arranged for the safe passage of 243 civilians – 182 Sri Lankan nationals and 61 foreign citizens – from Kilinochchi to Vavuniya. The crossing from north to south between areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government took place at Omanthai, some 15 km north of Vavuniya. Omanthai is one of the official crossing points specified in the 2002 ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE.
On 18 August the ICRC facilitated the crossing, also at Omanthai, of around 1,000 civilians from south to north.
For further information, please contact:
Carla Haddad, ICRC Geneva, tel +41 22 730 24 05 or +41 79 217 32 26
Davide Vignati, ICRC Colombo, tel +94 11 250 33 46 or +94 77 728 96 82