Lanka war: Red Cross sends food aid to trapped civilians

Colombo: Sri Lankan naval boats accompanied an emergency Red Cross shipment of food aid for tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the northeastern war zone on Wednesday as the Tamil Tiger rebels once again appealed for a halt to the war and a new round of peace talks.

Government forces – pledging to end the quarter-century civil war – have pushed the rebels to the brink of defeat in recent weeks, seizing their strongholds across the north and trapping them in a 39-square mile (100-square km) strip of land along the coast.

Aid groups estimate about 200,000 civilians are stuck in heavy fighting, though the government says the number is less than 100,000. The government has denied accusations it shelled areas filled with civilians, while the rebels denied reports they shot at families trying to escape.

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Rebel political chief Balasingham Nadesan accused the government of creating a humanitarian crisis in the area, and denied UN accusations that it was recruiting child soldiers and holding the local civilian population as human shields against the government offensive.

"The UN is accusing the wrong side in addressing the concerns of the people," he told the rebel-linked TamilNet Web site.

He also appealed for a truce, saying "the war has to be stopped immediately, paving way for negotiations."

Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella rejected new calls for a cease-fire.

The United Nations said earlier this week that those caught in the fighting were facing severe shortages of food, medicine and clean water. An increasing number have fallen ill.

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The Red Cross said it was sending 30 tonnes of dry rations to the civilians in the north. Aid workers say a minimum of 2,500 tons a month is required to feed the civilians trapped there.

Navy spokesman Capt D K P Dassanayake said naval boats were accompanying the Red Cross vessel.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for an independent state for minority Tamils, who have been marginalized for decades by successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

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