UN/ BAN KI MOON: CEASE-FIRE NOW!!! SINHALA WAR CAUSES 1000s OF TAMIL CIVILIAN CASUALITIES!!!

Sri Lanka War Causes Thousands of Civilian Casualties, UN Says


By Paul Tighe

March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka’s conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is causing thousands of civilian casualties, the United Nations said, as Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon called for an immediate cease-fire.

“The world body has no verifiable numbers due to lack of access for relief workers but estimates that thousands have been killed or wounded,” the UN said on its Web site, citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The government and the LTTE should suspend hostilities to allow civilians caught in the fighting in the north to leave and to let aid groups into the area, Ban said yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s army says it is on the brink of defeating the Tamil Tigers, who have waged a 26-year conflict for a separate homeland in the north and east of the South Asian island. As many as 150,000 people may be trapped in the north, the International Committee of the Red Cross said earlier this week.

The LTTE said on Feb. 23 it was ready for a cease-fire that led to peace negotiations. The government rules out holding truce talks and is demanding the group’s unconditional surrender.

Civilians are being killed in the war zone and by shelling in “safe” areas established by security forces, OCHA said.

“The no-fire zone is believed to be very squalid and overcrowded, and the UN has received information that people are dying from lack of food,” the UN said.

A worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross died two days ago after being wounded by shrapnel near Valayanmadam, an area on the northeastern coast held by the rebels, the organization said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

Army Offensives

The army says it has driven the LTTE into an area of less than 55 square kilometers (21.2 square miles) near Mullaitivu in the northeast after capturing its main bases, including the headquarters at Kilinochchi, since January.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government accuses the Tamil Tigers of holding about 70,000 people against their will. More than 30,000 people reached government-controlled areas last month, it said.

The government will open two new routes to allow civilians to flee from around Mullaitivu, Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona told the British Broadcasting Corp. One will lead north past the village of Chalai and the other will go to the south of Mullaitivu, he said in an interview yesterday.

The Tamil Tigers say civilians in safe zones are coming under “genocidal attacks” through air raids and artillery shelling. People are staying in LTTE-held territory of their own free will because they don’t want to be placed in government-run internment camps, the group said last month.

Food Shortages

Displaced civilians in no-fire zones in Wanni are facing food shortages and milk for babies and vegetables are so scarce people are starving, the TamilNet news agency in the north reported earlier this week.

The government is restricting food and medical aid in safe areas, TamilNet cited the LTTE’s political head in the Puthukkudiyirippu area as saying two days ago.

Kohona accompanied diplomats from France, Russia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and the Maldives who visited centers for displaced people in Vavuniya this week to see the assistance being provided, the government said in a statement on its Web site yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s army chief has told his commanders to ensure the safety of civilians in the final battles with the LTTE, according to the Defense Ministry.

“Our progress from now onward should be made meticulously, taking maximum precautions, keeping the civilian factor in mind at all times,” Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said when he visited, according to a statement on the Defense Ministry’s Web site late yesterday.

Troops repelled an “infiltration attempt” by the LTTE south of Chalai yesterday, the ministry said. The bodies of 33 rebels were recovered, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 5, 2009 22:06 EST
courtesy:bloomberg.com