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1 Feb 2017, 22:47

ICRC says it is ready to act as neutral intermediary to protect civilians in Donbass

Spokesperson for the Geneva office of the ICRC Jennifer Tobias said ICRC officers are currently helping the affected civilian population on both sides of the contact line

GENEVA, February 2. /TASS/. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it is ready to act as a neutral intermediary to protect civilians in Donbass in view of a deteriorating situation in Avdeevka.

"We're ready to act as a neutral intermediary to protect civilians & infrastructure needed for their survival on both sides of contact line," the ICRC said on its official Twitter account.

"The ICRC has acted as a neutral intermediary on humanitarian issues, in line with its mandate, on many occasions in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world - it is nothing new for us," spokesperson for the Geneva office of the International Committee of the Red Cross Jennifer Tobias replied to a Tass query as to what kind of a mission this could be.

"The ICRC does not however get involved in political negotiations: its role is strictly humanitarian," she marked.

"In October, with the water supply to some 600,000 people under threat in the Lugansk region due to a lack of agreement between the sides, the ICRC exceptionally stepped in to pay electricity bills for a period of two months in order to resume the water supply to the people had been cut off owing to unpaid electricity bills," she went on.

"Currently, over 600 families have registered loved ones as missing with the ICRC. The ICRC has proposed the creation of a mechanism where all concerned parties could work together to share information relating to people who have gone missing due to the conflict that could lead to cases being solved," the spokesperson said.

She said ICRC officers are currently helping the affected civilian population on both sides of the contact line.