Colombo - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is scaling down its operations in Sri Lanka following an order from the Sri Lankan government, the Red Cross said on Thursday. The ICRC has decided to close its offices in Eastern Province and withdraw its expatriate staff from the area, a statement from the ICRC in Colombo said.
"The ICRC is in the process of reviewing its setup and operational priorities in Sri Lanka," said Jacques de Maio, the organization's head of operations for South Asia.
The ICRC played a crucial role in the northeast during the long-running conflict between government forces and Tamil rebels by providing medical assistance to tens of thousands of civilians and escorting food convoys.
But some radical groups accused the ICRC of helping the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a claim the ICRC denied.
The instruction to scale down operations comes after the conflict ended in defeat for the Tamil rebels in May.
