UN evacuates wounded civilians from Sri Lanka war zone

UN evacuates wounded civilians from Sri Lanka war zone

8 hours ago

COLOMBO (AFP) — The United Nations evacuated hundreds of severely wounded civilians from behind rebel lines in Sri Lanka on Thursday as government troops fought to secure final victory over the Tamil Tigers.

Human rights bodies have called for immediate steps by both the Colombo government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to save up to 250,000 civilians trapped in the combat zone in the northeast of the island.

"About 350 critically wounded civilians, including 50 children, crossed the front lines," UN spokesman Gordon Weiss said, adding that the evacuations were the result of lengthy negotiations with the rebels.

A convoy of ambulances had been trapped for days behind Tiger front lines in Mullaittivu district, with the rebels refusing permission for it to leave.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said fighting between Sri Lankan troops and the LTTE had left an estimated 250,000 non-combatants stranded, urging both sides to do everything possible to spare innocent lives.

"The situation for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable civilians trapped in the Wanni war zone is becoming increasingly dangerous," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, referring to the island's northern jungles.

"Both the government and the LTTE need to take urgent action to prevent large-scale civilian deaths."

The United Nations, the European Union, Canada and India have added their voices to concerns raised by local and international rights groups for the safety of civilians.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday that a "major humanitarian crisis" was unfolding.

But Sri Lanka's government on Thursday denied that and said the Geneva-based ICRC had failed to understand "ground realities," and blamed the Tigers for preventing civilians from seeking the safety of government-held areas.

"The ICRC staff in Colombo is well aware that it is the LTTE that has barred the movement of civilians, despite which, braving execution by the LTTE, several thousands have now found their way to government-controlled territory," the Disaster Management and Human Rights ministry said in a statement.

The government offensive was meanwhile in full swing.

Troops pushing deep into the jungles of Mullaittivu district Thursday found a submarine-type craft of the guerrillas together with three other boats that could have been used in suicide attacks, the military said in a statement.

It said about 50 Tigers were killed and another 150 were wounded during Wednesday's fighting while four government troops had been reported missing. Troops seized several rebel vehicles, including an armoured personnel carrier.

The defence ministry has described the current fighting as the final phase of operations against the Tigers, who have fought for more than 30 years for a separate Tamil homeland.

A pro-rebel website reported that a top Tiger leader, K. V. Balakumaran, was wounded in fighting on Monday.

The territory controlled by the Tigers has been shrinking since mid-2007, and the guerrillas lost their last urban centre when the military seized the town of Mullaittivu on Sunday.

Government forces are battling to capture 30 kilometres (18 miles) of coast north of the bombed-out town.

Seizing the coastline would leave the remaining LTTE forces -- and possibly Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran -- encircled by troops.