News - Residence of two NGO officials attacked

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Residence of two NGO officials attacked

Armed men stormed and ransacked the home of two foreign officials, working for a French Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in Muttur, posing an indirect threat to abandon their work, Police sources said yesterday.

Armed with automatic weapons the men smashed items in the residence belonging to an Australian and Italian national attached to the Architecte de Urgence NGO operating in the area, for a year, involved in rebuilding houses damaged by the tsunami.

A French embassy spokesman in Colombo confirming the incident said the two officials had reported the matter to Colombo and thereafter a complaint had been lodged with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

The incident came less than a month after three other International NGO’s came under attack in the Muttur area.

Grenades were thrown into the ZOA Refugee Care, INERSOS and Non-Violent Peace Force offices injuring one foreign national.

The European Union and other countries called for a full investigation into the incident, but so far the persons responsible for the attack have not been identified.

In the wake of fresh attacks and claymore mine explosions, International NGOs operating in the north and eastern provinces have been warned to minimise their field trips in operational areas.

An official working for a foreign NGO told The Sunday Times, they precautions were being taken whenever they went out on field trips.

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