‘Civilians die’ in S Lanka battle

[BBC] The UN in Sri Lanka says dozens of civilians have been killed or injured in fighting between troops and rebels in the north-east in the past few days. Senior UN spokesman Gordon Weiss told the BBC shells exploded very close to civilian areas in Mullaitivu district. Mr Weiss said: “The shells landed on the…

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Sri Lanka: continuing conflict sparks UN concern over fate of children

[UN News Centre] A senior United Nations official today expressed concern over the fate of thousands of children caught up in the conflict in Sri Lanka pitting Government forces against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said in a press release that…

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Sri Lanka: UN agencies continue relief efforts in flood-hit north

[ UN News Centre ] United Nations relief officials are continuing to assist authorities in the conflict-wracked north of Sri Lanka respond to flooding that has displaced more than 70,000 people and affected 300,000 others. A UN inter-agency assessment of civilian needs in Northern province’s Jaffna district — the district hardest hit by the floods…

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