The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is deeply distressed by the killing in Donetsk on October of one of its employees, 38-year-old Swiss citizen Laurent DuPasquier, reads a statement posted on the ICRC Web site on Oct. 2 evening.
According to the report, DuPasquier worked as an administrator in the organization’s office in Donetsk and was killed when a shell landed near the premises.
‘We are deeply shocked by this tragic loss. We understand that there were other civilian casualties in Donetsk today. Indiscriminate shelling of residential areas is unacceptable and violates international humanitarian law,’ ICRC Director of Operations Dominik Stillhart said.
DuPasquier worked for the ICRC for more than five years, carrying out assignments in Pakistan, Yemen, Haiti, Egypt and Papua New Guinea. He started his posting in Ukraine six weeks ago.
‘The ICRC currently has about 20 staff in Donetsk, including five expatriates of various nationalities. All of the other ICRC staff are now safe. The ICRC has been working in Ukraine since the onset of the crisis this year, supporting hospitals, helping displaced and vulnerable people, and restoring contact between family members separated by the conflict,’ reads the statement.
Victoria Zotikova, a spokesperson for the ICRC’s regional delegation for Russia, Belarus, and Moldova, told Interfax (interfax.ru) on Friday that the issue of whether or not the ICRC office in Donetsk should continue to operate was now being discussed.
The ICRC has no plans to conduct its own investigation into the death of its employee in Donetsk, Zotikova said.
‘This is not our responsibility. And we do not have the opportunity to do so. The parties in the conflict should investigate this tragic incident,’ she said.
