U.N. regrets Colombo's decision to withdraw from CFA

[TamilNet, Friday, 04 January 2008, 10:00 GMT]
The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Thursday said he regretted the decision made by the Government of Sri Lanka to terminate the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Secretary-General said he was deeply worried that the withdrawal from the Agreement comes amidst intensifying fighting in the North and increasing violence across the country, including Colombo.

Full text of the U.N. statement follows:

New York, 3 January 2008 - Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Sri Lanka

The Secretary-General regrets the decision made by the Government of Sri Lanka to terminate the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He is deeply worried that the withdrawal from the Agreement comes amidst intensifying fighting in the North and increasing violence across the country, including Colombo.

The Secretary-General urges all concerned to ensure the protection of civilians and enable humanitarian assistance to be provided to affected areas. He underlines the urgent need to end the bloodshed in Sri Lanka through a political solution.

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