Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Escalation of conflict leaves tens of thousands of IDPs without protection and assistance

Attachments

The protracted armed conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has escalated dramatically since the beginning of 2006, with an estimated 3,300 people having been killed and over 200,000 internally displaced, in addition to the hundreds of thousands uprooted earlier on in the conflict and by the tsunami of December 2004. Both sides to the conflict are accused of deliberately targeting civilians and committing grave human rights violations with impunity. The government as well as the LTTE have severely restricted access to conflict areas under their control, thus leaving more than half of the newly displaced people and other affected populations without adequate international protection and humanitarian assistance. The areas mostly affected by renewed violence and displacement include Jaffna, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

Neither the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse, nor the LTTE seem interested in continuing peace talks, the last round of which ended on 29 October 2006 without result. Increased international political pressure on both conflict parties to return to the negotiating table for meaningful peace talks is needed to bring this conflict to an end. In the short term, the main priority must be to stop the targeting of civilians by both conflict parties, and ensure safe access by humanitarian agencies to conflict-affected areas.

Read full Overview (html / )

Download full Internal Displacement Profile