Aid Worker Killed in Sri Lanka

Published April 09, 2009 @ 09:41AM PT

Yesterday an aid worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed in Sri Lanka. The ICRC has released the following statement:

"A staff member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was hit by a shell and killed instantly this morning [April 8th] while fetching water for his family near Ampalavanpokanai, on the coastal belt of the territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

'We feel devastated and are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend and colleague Sinnathurai Kugathasan," said Paul Castella, the head of the ICRC delegation in Colombo. "We extend our heartfelt condolences to all of his family and friends.'

Mr Kugathasan was married and the father of three children. He had been working for the ICRC since 2002 as a water technician. In recent days, he was involved in the ICRC-facilitated medical evacuations, helping to bring patients from the makeshift medical facility in Putumattalan to the beach and then on to the ICRC ferry for transfer to Trincomalee and Pulomoddai."

Mr. Kugathasan is the second ICRC staff killed in northern Sri Lanka so far this year.

Overall, five aid workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since January.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Kugathasan's family and colleagues.

[ICRC operations in Sri Lanka - Photo from tamilnet.com]

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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.