By IPS correspondents
While the Sri Lankan army has announced the capture of Mullaitivu, the last bastion of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the plight of more than 250,000 civilians caught in the fighting continues to be as grim as that of civilians in Gaza, say those involved in humanitarian work.
The defence ministry’s website said that the army had ‘’gained total control over the Mullaitivu township after completing mop up operations’’. However, there was no word that any of the leaders of the LTTE, including its elusive supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, had been captured.
“We now have a high number of people concentrated in a small area and we are very concerned for their safety. They are close to the fighting and have poor access to healthcare and shelter as well as proper water and sanitation,” Philippe Duamelle, country representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund, told IPS.
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(from Hari Sharma, head of Vancouver, Canada, based organization Sansad)