Red Cross Says Its Team Is Being Held Close To Mariupol In Ukraine

The group “was being held in the town of Manhush, 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Mariupol,” ICRC spokesman Jason Straziuso told Reuters. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the Red Cross group was being held by “occupation authorities”. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Straziuso declined to give details about who was holding the group, saying only that they had been taken into custody by police. “This is not a hostage situation,” he added, adding that the ICC is in talks with all parties to clarify the situation and demand their release. The Red Cross team aimed to reach the besieged city of Mariupol on Monday and evacuate some of the remaining residents who lack basic supplies. It was their fourth attempt since Friday. The group withdrew its team, which included staff members with young children, from the port city in mid-March after their aid ran out. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Emma Farge, Edited by William Maclean and Rosalba O’Brien Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.