TAMIL IDPs' CONDITIONS WORSNING IN SINHALA CONCENTRATION CAMPS!!!

Conditions reach breaking point- UNHCR

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed that some 160,000 people have been displaced by fighting into the Government controlled areas, of which more than 140,000 are being accommodated in 32 sites in Vavuniya, another 11,000 in Jaffna and some 5,000 in Trincomalee.

“UNHCR staff on the ground report that the present situation in the north is critical,” the agency’s spokesperson, William Spindler, told reporters in Geneva. “The conditions at the sites have reached breaking point, placing severe strains on the humanitarian services available.”

The agency says that people without shelter are staying out in the open in the blazing sun and sweltering heat. It has also received “persistent” reports of physical assaults on men and women fleeing into Government-controlled areas.

“We are reminding the Government of its responsibilities towards the civilian population and to ensure the protection of its own citizens,” Mr. Spindler stated.

UNHCR is calling on the Government to provide more resources to respond to the emergency and immediately make available all public buildings and viable land for the accommodation of the large number of civilians in desperate need of assistance.

The agency began an aid airlift for displaced people in Sri Lanka yesterday with the first plane carrying almost 3,000 family-size tents from its stockpiles in Dubai. A second humanitarian flight, carrying 103 metric tons of aid, arrived early today in Colombo.

High Commissioner António Guterres has authorised an additional $2 million for Sri Lankan operations, which will go towards providing shelter, protection and other aid for civilians. The agency is also revising its current appeal for Sri Lanka, and increasing its budget for IDPs there to $16.6 million.

“Given the urgency of the situation, we hope that donors will give generously to UNHCR in order for us to continue assisting the thousands of people forced to flee their homes in Sri Lanka,” Mr. Spindler said.

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