[ UN News Centre ]

The United Nations, along with dozens of partner agencies, are working to improve basic conditions in camps housing people who fled the recently-ended conflict in northern Sri Lanka, it was announced today. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that since the arrival of the last of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the camps, relief workers have been working to ease pressure on overcrowded sites, construct more latrines and improve water supply to meet international standards. Other priorities include reuniting families and improving freedom of movement in the camps.

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[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 she is worried about children who are internally displaced persons (IDPs) and child combatants used by the LTTE.

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[HRW]

[UN News Centre]

An independent United Nations human rights expert has called on Sri Lanka to significantly improve access for more humanitarian relief and personnel to reach hundreds of thousands of people displaced in the northern Vanni region by the ongoing conflict between the Government and Tamil separatists. In a letter to the Government, Walter Kälin, the Secretary-General’s Representative for the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continuing efforts to enable humanitarian convoys to reach the estimated 200,000-300,000 IDPs in the region.

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[IRIN]

More than 50,000 people have been hit by flooding in northwestern Mannar District in Sri Lanka since 12 March, the government said. The area has witnessed intense clashes between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the last six months, restricting access to relief agencies. Flooding caused by torrential rains has affected 173,909 people in nine districts of the country, including 120,000 in the eastern Batticaloa District, and left five dead, the National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC) said on 19 March.

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[Reuters]

Floods triggered by torrential rain have forced more than 7,000 people from their homes in eastern Sri Lanka, with some taking shelter in schools and mosques, officials said on Tuesday. Flooding and ensuing mass displacement are common in Sri Lanka, often fuelled by monsoon rains. The latest flood victims included families living in basic camps, who had already been displaced by renewed war between the state and Tamil Tiger rebels.

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[UN]

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is appealing for $18.6 million to assist an estimated 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka who have been uprooted by decades of armed conflict. The funds - part of the Sri Lanka Common Humanitarian Action Plan - will go towards protection of the displaced, returnees and other populations affected by the fighting between Government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It will also be used to provide shelter, non-food relief items and camp management.

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