Sri Lankan Red Cross Demands Investigation

The Red Cross in Sri Lanka, days after two of its own workers were found murdered, has demanded an investigation into the killings and urged the Sri Lankan government and rebel Tamil Tiger group to respect human rights, reports Reuters news agency.

Abductions and disappearances have become more common in recent months since the country’s civil war, which dates back to 1983, flared up. President Mahinda Rajapaksa called the Red Cross killings an attempt to damage his and his government’s reputation in advance of a meeting with the Red Cross in Geneva scheduled for this month, the news agency reports.

The two deceased workers, S. Shanmugalingam and K. Chandramohan, were the latest aid workers to be killed in the conflict, reports the Associated Press.

The charity Action Against Hunger lost 17 of its workers last summer when they were killed in Sri Lanka.

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