An international aid group has suspended its aid operations in Sri Lanka due to restrictions placed on it by the government.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Al Jazeera on Wednesday, a day after Sri Lanka’s government declared victory over the Tamil Tigers, that “additional restrictions” meant it had no choice but to halt its activities.
About 265,000 ethnic Tamils were displaced in the military’s recent offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, and many of them have been sent to overcrowded camps in the country’s north.
“Since last weekend there have been additional restrictions imposed on aid organisations, including ICRC,” Paul Castella, the head of the group’s Sri Lanka operations, said.
“The authorities have said that because of security they had to restrict access to certain areas.
“What is the take of these civilians and what the conditions are we don’t know because we are not granted access to the area.”