Sri Lanka plea to protect women and children

The United Nations today urged Sri Lanka's army and the Tamil Tigers to do everything possible to avoid casualties among Sri Lankan families. Both sides should let the tens of thousands of ordinary people trapped in the conflict zone leave it freely, said top UN humanitarian official John Holmes. Mr Holmes met the island’s foreign minister as the Tamil Tiger rebels found themselves cornered by government troops, 37 years after the rebels launched a bloody campaign for an independent Tamil homeland.The visit came as the international aid organisations reported an "unfolding catastrophe" with trapped civilians short of food, medicine and shelter. “We are concerned about reports of heavy casualties to the civilian population,” said Mr Holmes. According to Agence France-Presse news agency, Mr Holmes is expected to travel to the camps in the northeast.

"I call on the government and I call on the Tamil Tigers to do everything possible to avoid such casualties to make sure international humanitarian law is being fully respected."
Sri Lanka’s government says the Tigers are shooting people trapped and using women and children as human shields, but the rebels say civilians are seeking their protection. Because independent journalists are barred from the area, there is no way to verify either side’s claim.

The Tigers have also criticised the UN for not taking adequate measures to protect innocent Tamils. The UN and aid groups have expressed deep concern that there is not enough food and medicine reaching the people trapped in the conflict zone. They say that a minimum of 2,500 tonnes of food a month are needed. On Wednesday, India offered to help evacuate the trapped civilians. The Sri Lankan government has welcomed the offer, "provided it is done within the framework we have set up already".

About 50,000 soldiers are pressing the Tamil Tigers into a patch of north-eastern jungle, say news agencies, after taking the key areas of Kilinochchi, Elephant Pass and Mullaitivu. The Tigers have been fighting for a separate homeland in the north and east for a quarter of a century.

There are five SOS Children’s Villages in Sri Lanka. After the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, the SOS Social Centre at the Village in Batticaloa played an important role in the extensive emergency relief programme carried out by SOS Children. SOS Children set up 10 child relief centres and temporary schools along the southern and eastern coast of Sri Lanka, providing clean water, food, medical care and schooling for thousands of children.

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By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children