Apr 23, Colombo: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said yesterday that it will continue to provide assistance to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, recently hit by tsunamis and earthquakes.

Reto Meister, the organization's delegate-general for Asia and the Pacific, said they will continue their help until reconstruction efforts “produce results.”

“[However,] the ICRC will shift its focus back to humanitarian work related to the internal conflicts in Sri Lanka and the Indonesian province of Aceh,” Mr. Meister said.

“Most tsunami survivors still live in difficult conditions. Many of them have lost everything and they still depend on humanitarian aid to rebuild their lives,” he added.

The ICRC said that “for the rest of 2005, it will go on endeavouring to bridge the gap until reconstruction begins producing results” in the two countries.