Up to 85,000 people to flee Sri Lanka war: UNHCR

[Reuters] Up to 85,000 civilians trapped in northeastern Sri Lanka could flee the war zone in coming weeks as the army closes in on rebel-held territory, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday. The Sri Lankan government has allocated 300 acres of land where the UNHCR can receive up to 42,000 people by the…

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Sri Lankans who escaped war zone now fenced in

[AP] Devi Segaram kept on the run for two years, forced to move time and again to stay ahead of the civil war sweeping across northern Sri Lanka. Then there was nowhere left to shelter. So, two weeks ago, the teacher and her daughter joined hundreds of other ethnic Tamils to make a dash for…

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Concerns raised over civilian deaths in Sri Lanka violence

[Los Angeles Times] The number of civilian deaths in Sri Lanka has risen sharply in the last month, Human Rights Watch said Friday, calling on both sides in the protracted civil war to stop firing at civilians or shelling areas where they are concentrated. The government has been battling the Tamil Tiger rebel group, which…

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Sri Lankans in ‘Safe Zone’ Still Under Fire

[OneWorld.net] In a designated safe zone in northern Sri Lanka, weekend fighting has put civilians back in the war zone. A new “safe zone” has provided some respite for tens of thousands of local residents, reports the United Nations, but that area also experienced some fighting in the past several days. “The Sri Lankan government…

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