The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has closed its office in Vavuniya after the Sri Lankan government requested the organization to run its operations exclusively from Colombo, an ICRC news release stated.

Vavuniya was the last ICRC office in the north of the country, as the office in Jaffna had already closed at the end of February.

“In its role as a neutral intermediary, the ICRC worked with the parties to the conflict to protect and assist the victims of the fighting, for example by facilitating the movement of medical services and the transfer of human remains,” explained Romain Cachemaille, the outgoing head of the Vavuniya Office.

“The ICRC also visited prisoners to assess their conditions and, working with our partners in the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society, assisted people injured or displaced in connection with hostilities.”

The ICRC has been working in the Vavuniya area since 1989, when it first opened an office in Anuradhapura to help people affected by the security situation. In 1997, the ICRC established a permanent presence in the town of Vavuniya. Over the years, the organization extended its work to the surrounding districts of Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Mannar.

The ICRC will continue working with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS), to respond to remaining humanitarian needs from the past conflict in Sri Lanka, the organization affirmed.