Geneva: An International Committee of the Red Cross employee was killed today in a shooting in Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna peninsula, the organisation said.

"A staff member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was killed in a shooting incident in Jaffna today," the statement said. "He was the father of two children and had been working with the ICRC since 1999.

"The incident occurred on the morning of 23 December while the staff member was exiting a bus on his way to work. The police authorities are investigating to ascertain the exact circumstances that led to this tragic death."

Fighting has raged in northern Sri Lanka in recent months as the government pursues a months-long offensive to wipe out the last pockets of resistance by the Tamil Tigers rebel group.

The Hindu rebels have been fighting since 1972 for a state for ethnic minority Tamils separate from the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community. The violence has killed over 70,000 people in the past three decades.

Source : PTI