[ Inner City Press ]

Just back to the United Nations from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s surreal tour of Sri Lanka, Inner City Press asked UK Ambassador John Sawers if the UN paying for interment camps for Tamils rounded up from throughout northern Sri Lanka compiles with international humanitarian law. Ambassador Sawers, rather than answer, said that there has been a “high level of attention” to the issue by the UN, by envoy Vijay Nambiar, humanitarian chief John Holmes and the visit of the Secretary General over the weekend. There’s been not report to the Security Council yet, Sawers said, we look forward to that and “we’ll have to consider steps after that.” Video here, from Minute 6:15.

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[ CNN ]

The United Nations humanitarian chief Wednesday criticized a two-day pause in the fighting between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tiger rebels as “inadequate.” John Holmes, the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told reporters that the 48-hour break in hostilities was not sufficient, even as fighting resumed in the northeast of the country. The brief cessation of hostilities was announced by the Sri Lankan government on April 12 and allowed the U.N. and its partners to bring in necessary aid, said Holmes. He said he would have liked a “proper humanitarian pause” that lasted longer than two days, but hoped the break allowed for some progress to occur.

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[ Inner City Press ]

As military action recommences in northern Sri Lanka, the UN’s top humanitarian John Holmes on Wednesday repeated government assurances that it would be in “siege mode.” Inner City Press asked Holmes, given his estimate of 100,000 civilians trapped in 17 square kilometers, if the UN is asking for a cease-fire. Holmes said that “a cease-fire is not available, we are trying to achieve something realistic.” Video here, from Minute 23:14. Holmes acknowledged that UN staff members — who he pointed out are “local” or “Sri Lankan national” staff — are held without freedom of movement in the camps set up by the government.

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[ VOA ]

The United Nations top humanitarian official welcomed a 48-hour pause in fighting in Sri Lanka’s conflict zone, but cautioned that it was insufficient to get in enough aid or to evacuate many of the more than 100,000 civilians trapped by the fighting between the government and Tamil rebels. U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator John Holmes said the government’s two-day-long halt in military operations that ended Wednesday was a “valuable first step”, but the United Nations would have hoped for a longer pause agreed to by both sides.

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[BBC]

The Sri Lankan government has rejected fresh calls for a temporary ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told the BBC that if the rebels laid down their arms there would be no need for a halt in the fighting. Reports of growing civilian casualties have prompted the UN, European Union and India to urge a ceasefire. In a briefing to the UN Security Council a few days ago, its humanitarian chief, Sir John Holmes, said the restrictions on the movement of civilians into and out of the camps were unacceptable.

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[AFP]

Tens of thousands of Sri Lankan civilians face “great danger” after being caught in fighting between Tamil rebels and the advancing military, a senior UN diplomat warned on Friday. “Estimates vary of the number of civilians trapped, from 70,000 according to the government, through around 200,000 according to UN estimates, up to 300,000 or more according to Tamil groups,” said UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told Security Council members. The civilians were stuck in a no-man’s land spanning around 14 square kilometers (five square miles), as expectations grew that government forces would move in on Tamil positions in short order.

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[BBC]

The campaign group, Human Rights Watch, has accused the Sri Lankan army of “slaughter” and rebels of “brutality” towards civilians in the north-east. It called on the government to end its “indiscriminate artillery attacks” on civilians and its policy of “detaining displaced persons in internment camps”. Human Rights Watch also condemned the Tamil Tigers for “increased brutality” towards trapped civilians. The government and rebels both strongly deny targeting civilians. Top UN humanitarian official John Holmes is currently in Sri Lanka and is visiting camps of displaced civilians in the north-east.

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[BBC]

Visiting top UN humanitarian official John Holmes has urged Sri Lanka’s army and the Tamil Tigers to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. The government says the Tigers are using human shields, but the rebels say civilians are seeking their protection. This is Mr Holmes’s first visit since 2007 when his comment that Sri Lanka was one of the most dangerous places in the world for aid workers sparked government anger and drew a rebuke from the prime minister.

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[AFP]

The U.N.’s top envoy for humanitarian affairs John Holmes will arrive in Colombo on Thursday to assess Sri Lanka’s relief operations in its conflict zone, the government said. The visit comes after U.N.-appointed experts expressed concern earlier this month over “rapidly deteriorating conditions” facing civilians affected by the war between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels and the “significant number of civilian casualties.” The United Nations under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs was visiting the island at Colombo’s invitation, the government said Wednesday.

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[UN News Centre]

The United Nations is increasingly concerned for the well-being of tens of thousands of civilians caught up in the conflict raging in the northern Vanni area of Sri Lanka pitting Government forces against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the world body’s humanitarian chief said today.

“As fighting surrounds the areas towards which families have been displaced, and with few choices about where to move, they are increasingly susceptible to harm due to the fighting,” Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said in a statement.

“While they have had access to basic food, in large part due to the Government and the UN assistance transported through the lines of fighting,” he said, “they have few, if any, reserves and the conditions of their basic shelter, water and sanitation are increasingly inadequate as many have been displaced multiple times over the last months, weeks and days.”

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