France to Set Up Field Hospital in Vavuniya

Sri Lanka Express

France is deploying a detachment of 72 emergency aid personnel to Sri Lanka to set up a field hospital in Vavuniya near the conflict zone. The detachment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Delforge, will carry tents and equipment needed for consulting and operating rooms, Le Monde reported. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner announced that the amount of the French contribution to the High Commissioner for Refugees in Sri Lanka will be doubled from 500 to 1000 million euros. Financial assistance from the humanitarian emergency to French NGOs in Sri Lanka will also more than doubled, he said.