SRI LANKA: Escalated Conflict Takes Toll on Children, Civilians

• by IPS Correspondents (colombo)
• Sunday, April 05, 2009
• Inter Press Service

At least 12,000 schoolchildren are now remaining among over 57,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled the fighting and reached the safety of government areas, according to local education officials in Vavuniya.

Many more children and civilians are trapped within the combat zones and face the risk of injury, death and forced recruitment. The non-profit organisation Save the Children has begun assisting the setting up of temporary learning centres in the 17 transit centres in Vavuniya, where over 44,000 IDPs escaping the fighting are staying. Save the Children has so far established learning centres in 10 transit camps.

'We are trying to make sure that children can continue with their education without a break. We are providing educational materials and other help,' Ashok Kumar, Save the Children district coordinator in Vavuniya, told IPS.

The agency is also providing morning meals and has trained 48 pre-school teachers among the IDPs to conduct classes. 'The circumstances are very difficult, but we will help these kids to continue with their education,' Kumar said.

The fighting has disrupted the education of at least 60,000 students, according to Save the Children. 'The effect on the education and the children’s lives has been huge,' explained its spokesperson, Meneca Calyanarathne.

The United Nations estimates that over 150,000 civilians are trapped inside areas of heavy fighting east of the town of Puthukkudiyiruppu in the northern Mulaithivu district, about 330 kilometres from the capital Colombo. The government estimates the figure to be around 70,000.

For more than two decades, this South Asian island nation has been gripped by civil war between the state and Tiger rebels, who have been seeking a separate homeland for minority Tamils. The armed conflict in this majority Sinhalese country has taken more than 70,000 lives.

Thousands have escaped the fighting overland in the last three months. Mahinda Samarasinghe, minister for human rights and disaster management, said that over 7,000 had escaped to government-held areas during the last week of March. 'More will come, we are expecting more,' he said.

Gordon Weiss, the spokesman for the United Nations in Sri Lanka, said that more trapped civilians will try to escape. 'We assume that most civilians who are trapped will try to flee,' he said. 'Their best chances for survival obviously lie outside the combat area.'

The International Committee of the Red Cross has also transported over 6,600 injured and sick civilians and caregivers out of the combat zone by ferry since February, with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Navy. Due to intense fighting, overland convoys have been unable to travel to the combat zones since late January.

The ferry link has also been used by the World Food Programme (WFP) to transport food and other supplies. The WFP said that it has sent over 2,200 metric tonnes of food supplies since February.

This week, it dispatched the largest shipment of supplies of 1,000 metric tonnes. 'This is the largest shipment we have sent and it comes at a crucial time for these people,' Adnan Khan, the WFP country head in Sri Lanka, said.

Those remaining inside the areas of fighting are cramped into a 12 km no-fire zone at the edge of combat areas.

The no-fire zone was declared by the government, but the Defence Ministry and the Army now say that the Tigers have retreated into it and are taking cover amidst the civilians. The government said that from within the safe zone, the Tigers had fired two surface-to-air missiles at two Air Force helicopters that were evacuating wounded soldiers on Mar. 25. The helicopters were not hit.

The United Nations and the ICRC have warned that the conditions within the combat zones are extremely dire. On Apr. 4, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon once again appealed to the Tigers to allow civilians to move out of the areas of fighting at their free will.

'The Secretary-General is deeply distressed by continuing reports from the Vanni region of Sri Lanka that civilians are at extreme risk, with heavy casualties, and that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tigers) are keeping civilians in a very small area of active conflict against their will. While some have been able to leave or escape, reliable reports indicate that the LTTE have prevented others from leaving, including by firing at them,' a statement from Ban Ki-moon's office said.

Children were being recruited into Tiger ranks and thrust into battle, the same statement said. 'The Secretary-General calls upon the LTTE leadership to allow civilians to leave the conflict area of their own free will. The severe restrictions of the LTTE on their freedom of movement violate international law. The Secretary-General also deplores the forced recruitment of civilians, particularly children.'

The ICRC, which has regular access into the no-fire zone due to the ferry service, also warned that situation in the no-fire zone was serious.

'Many patients need to have a limb amputated because of a shrapnel injury. We also treat injuries to other parts of the body, sometimes to remove shrapnel. I have seen many patients with heavily infected wounds, sometimes in areas where amputation is required,' explained Martin Hermman, an ICRC surgeon attending to evacuated civilians.

'Infections set in rapidly when a wound is not treated with antibiotics or a dressing cannot be changed. On some patients arriving here, strips of sarong or t-shirts have been used instead of dressings. Pieces of wood are often used as splinters to immobilise a fracture and spare the person a lot of pain,' he said. 'Amputees will need physiotherapy and prosthetic work if they are to regain the use of their limbs.'

Meanwhile Walter Kaelin, representative of the U.S. Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, is in Sri Lanka on a four-day visit. He is expected to meet with top government officials and visit the transit camps in Vavuniya.

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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