UN expects LTTE to provide safe passage to its convoy

[TamilNet, Monday, 15 September 2008, 15:42 GMT]
The United Nations office of the Resident / Humanitarian Coordinator for Sri Lanka, in a statement issued on Monday in Colombo, said it intends to move remaining UN and humanitarian agency staff in a single convoy at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday and that it expects the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) to provide safe passage to the convoy towards Oamanthai crossing.

Full text of the press release by the UN office in Colombo follows:

15 September 2008
STATEMENT

The UN has received assurances from the LTTE that UN and humanitarian agency staff remaining in Kilinochchi can leave. We intend moving those staff in a single convoy at 10 am tomorrow morning. We expect that all staff and this convoy will be given safe passage by the LTTE to the Omanthai crossing. We reiterate that we have been compelled to temporarily relocate from Kilinochchi because of our security assessment that the situation has become too dangerous to remain working from there at this time. Because of our continuing commitment to and concern for the civilians of the Vanni, senior staff are in place to mount our humanitarian operation from Vavuniya.