A top UN official has said that the two-day truce in Sri Lanka is not enough to alleviate the sufferings of over 100,000 civilians.
A top UN official has said that the two-day truce in Sri Lanka that ended on Wednesday is not enough to alleviate the sufferings of over 100,000 civilians trapped in the conflict zone of the country and called for its extension.
UN under secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holms told reporters at the world body's headquarters in New York that the 48-hour ceasefire between the Sri Lankan Army and LTTE had been a valuable first step in allowing trapped civilians to leave the conflict area.
"But it's clear that 48 hours was not long enough to allow us to get in significant amounts of aid, or indeed to allow visits by humanitarian workers to the area," Holmes said and called for a humanitarian pause for longer than two days
and agreed to by both sides.
Holms alleged that during the ceasefire LTTE actively prevented those who wanted to leave from getting out from the no-fire zone -- a 14-square km area in the northern Vanni region of Sri Lanka.
Civilians should not be used as "pawns or human shields" in that way, he said.
Holms said that LTTE was the biggest obstacle to people trying to leave the no-fire zone, though, at the same time, the Government should stop the use of heavy weapons.
Holmes hoped that a World Food Programme ship would be able to deliver its cargo in the coming few days as current food supplies were not sufficient.
Availability of medical supplies, shelter and clean water was also a matter of concern, he said.
Urging the Sri Lankan Government not to use heavy weapons in the area as they had been doing, Holmes asked the Government to address concerns raised regarding the camps for internally displaced persons in terms of camp management, freedom of movement and more transparent screening of people getting out of the area.
There should also be assurances that the people in the camps would be allowed to return to their place of origin as soon as possible, he said.
With the resumption of fighting, Holmes warned that there could be a "bloodbath" if immediate steps were not taken now. Some 100,000 people are in five square km area, he said.
Holmes said in past few weeks, there had been contacts with representatives of LTTE outside of the conflict area who were in communication with leaders on the ground, to pressure them into allowing civilians to leave. The response had been
that the civilians were there voluntarily and were not being held against their will.
According to LTTE, the people did not trust the Government's promises regarding their treatment once they came out.
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