Maybe we can give them a breather after reading this article?
UN: 250K civilians facing food crisis in Sri Lanka
By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer
28 mins ago
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The United Nations warned Friday that civilians caught in the shrinking sliver of territory still controlled by the rebels are facing a massive food crisis, and convoys may not be able to deliver supplies until late next week.
Concern for the fate of civilians — hundreds of whom observers say have died in the latest fighting — has grown recently, and several Western countries have pressed the government to declare a cease-fire to allow noncombatants to flee.
Sri Lanka has refused to let up its offensive, but President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised the U.N. secretary-general he would safeguard innocents caught in the government's relentless offensive, which has almost routed the Tamil Tigers, virtually ending their 25-year war for a separate Tamil nation in this Sinhalese-majority country. On Friday, troops captured the headquarters of a rebel regiment, the said.
Rajapaksa assured U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a 15-minute telephone conversation Thursday that the offensive "would be carried out without harassment to the civilian population," a statement from the president's office said.
Reports from the sealed war zone, known as Vanni, were spotty, but evidence has grown in recent days of mounting casualties among the estimated 250,000 civilians trapped there. The top health official there said last week that 300 civilians had been killed, and the U.N. said at least 52 civilians were killed Tuesday.
Adding to concerns, the World Food Program said that the entire population of the Vanni is facing a food crisis. They are completely dependent on humanitarian aid, but WFP said it has not been able to get a supply convoy into the conflict zone since Jan. 16.
A convoy that was supposed to enter during a 4-hour "humanitarian window" Thursday could not go because the agency did not receive the necessary clearance from government officials, Emilia Casella, a spokeswoman for the agency in Geneva, told reporters. The earliest they would be able to send in another convoy is next Thursday, she said.
"We don't have any more stocks to be distributed, and our staff are essentially hiding at the moment," Casella said. WFP has 16 staff and 81 dependents in the Vanni area.
Amnesty International called on both sides to declare a humanitarian cease-fire to allow civilians out and to let food, water and medical supplies be delivered to those who can't leave.
"A quarter of a million people are suffering without adequate food and shelter while shells rain down upon them. Most of those who have managed to escape the conflict have not received adequate hospital treatment," said Yolanda Foster, a researcher at the London-based rights group.
But the government has ruled out a cease-fire.
At least 600 civilians crossed the front lines into the government-controlled area Friday, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. He said a total of 1,637 civilians crossed Thursday.
Meanwhile, troops captured the headquarters of the rebel group's Radha regiment in Vishwamadu area on Friday, Nanayakkara said.
The regiment is responsible for providing security to the Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and to the rebel group's tiny air force, which is now defunct. However, no rebels were captured as they fled on seeing the advancing troops, he said.
"Troops surrounded the area so fast that the (fleeing) terrorists couldn't even take their flag," he said.
The military captured the rebels' biggest sea base Thursday, effectively cutting off their main supply point.
Also Friday, some 150 demonstrators demonstrated outside the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the capital Colombo, apparently protesting its reports of civilian casualties.
Some among the protesters threw stones at the office, causing minor damage but no injury to staff, said Red Cross spokeswoman Sarasi Wijeratne.
Some 70,000 people have died in the Tamil conflict, which began in 1983 after years of marginalization of the Tamil minority by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority.
UN: 250K civilians facing food crisis in Sri Lanka
By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer
28 mins ago
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The United Nations warned Friday that civilians caught in the shrinking sliver of territory still controlled by the rebels are facing a massive food crisis, and convoys may not be able to deliver supplies until late next week.
Concern for the fate of civilians — hundreds of whom observers say have died in the latest fighting — has grown recently, and several Western countries have pressed the government to declare a cease-fire to allow noncombatants to flee.
Sri Lanka has refused to let up its offensive, but President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised the U.N. secretary-general he would safeguard innocents caught in the government's relentless offensive, which has almost routed the Tamil Tigers, virtually ending their 25-year war for a separate Tamil nation in this Sinhalese-majority country. On Friday, troops captured the headquarters of a rebel regiment, the said.
Rajapaksa assured U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a 15-minute telephone conversation Thursday that the offensive "would be carried out without harassment to the civilian population," a statement from the president's office said.
Reports from the sealed war zone, known as Vanni, were spotty, but evidence has grown in recent days of mounting casualties among the estimated 250,000 civilians trapped there. The top health official there said last week that 300 civilians had been killed, and the U.N. said at least 52 civilians were killed Tuesday.
Adding to concerns, the World Food Program said that the entire population of the Vanni is facing a food crisis. They are completely dependent on humanitarian aid, but WFP said it has not been able to get a supply convoy into the conflict zone since Jan. 16.
A convoy that was supposed to enter during a 4-hour "humanitarian window" Thursday could not go because the agency did not receive the necessary clearance from government officials, Emilia Casella, a spokeswoman for the agency in Geneva, told reporters. The earliest they would be able to send in another convoy is next Thursday, she said.
"We don't have any more stocks to be distributed, and our staff are essentially hiding at the moment," Casella said. WFP has 16 staff and 81 dependents in the Vanni area.
Amnesty International called on both sides to declare a humanitarian cease-fire to allow civilians out and to let food, water and medical supplies be delivered to those who can't leave.
"A quarter of a million people are suffering without adequate food and shelter while shells rain down upon them. Most of those who have managed to escape the conflict have not received adequate hospital treatment," said Yolanda Foster, a researcher at the London-based rights group.
But the government has ruled out a cease-fire.
At least 600 civilians crossed the front lines into the government-controlled area Friday, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. He said a total of 1,637 civilians crossed Thursday.
Meanwhile, troops captured the headquarters of the rebel group's Radha regiment in Vishwamadu area on Friday, Nanayakkara said.
The regiment is responsible for providing security to the Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and to the rebel group's tiny air force, which is now defunct. However, no rebels were captured as they fled on seeing the advancing troops, he said.
"Troops surrounded the area so fast that the (fleeing) terrorists couldn't even take their flag," he said.
The military captured the rebels' biggest sea base Thursday, effectively cutting off their main supply point.
Also Friday, some 150 demonstrators demonstrated outside the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the capital Colombo, apparently protesting its reports of civilian casualties.
Some among the protesters threw stones at the office, causing minor damage but no injury to staff, said Red Cross spokeswoman Sarasi Wijeratne.
Some 70,000 people have died in the Tamil conflict, which began in 1983 after years of marginalization of the Tamil minority by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority.
