UN stopped from evacuating wounded Sri Lankan civilians

South Asia correspondent Sally Sara

Last Updated: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:20:00 +1100

The United Nations says it is trying to evacuate hundreds of critically injured patients, including up to 50 children who remain trapped behind Tamil Tiger lines.

Aid groups are calling on both sides to protect the lives of civilians.

Amnesty International cited reports that the Tigers have prevented international aid workers from evacuating nearly 400 hospital patients inside rebel-held territory.

"The Tamil Tigers must let injured civilians go," said Yolanda Foster, Amnesty's Sri Lanka researcher.

"Preventing civilians from accessing medical care constitutes a war crime," she said.

Fighting has intensified between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

The Sri Lankan government says it will expand safe zones for civilians caught in heavy fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tigers.

But, the International Red Cross says many civilians have already been injured and hospitals and ambulances have also been hit in the crossfire.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says its workers in northern Sri Lanka are still not able to help hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped amid heavy fighting.

UN concern

The United Nations has also expressed deep concern over the fate of civilians, who have been caught up in running battles between government troops and remnants of the Tamil Tiger rebels, following the capture at the weekend of the last rebel-held town of Mullaitivu.

The conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tiger rebels was the subject of a European Union meeting in Brussels, after which Colombo's foreign minister said his government was doing all it could to spare civilians.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama also accused the Tamil Tigers of using civilians as human shields.

The United Nations in Colombo says at least 30 civilians have died in the latest fighting, including 10 people killed on Monday inside an area that had been declared a "safety zone" by the Sri Lankan military.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has appealed to both sides to allow civilians to move to safe areas.

International monitors and media kept out

Paul O'Callaghan, executive director of the Australian Council for International Development, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia that details on the fate of civilians have been difficult to establish.

"No outside parties are allowed to go in to monitor or verify claims by either side," he said.

"But there's no question that the situation is extreme for internally displaced people, about a quarter of a million of whom are trapped in the middle of this fighting, and that many civilians are dying."

Mr O'Callaghan says there needs to be more respect for no-fire zones, and for safe zones to be obeyed by both the rebels and Sri Lankan troops.

"It's important that these poor people who are caught in the middle, who are completely innocent victims of this civil war can be kept safe - and particularly that medical supplies can get into these communities, which this week is a very acute situation.

"The great pity of this is that there are no external eyes able to witness what is happening at the moment, including the media. This is one of those occasions, as we saw in Gaza, for external players particularly the media or international monitors to see what is happening and whether internally displaced people are able to access medical supplies, food water or shelter.

"But our understanding is that there are many people at the moment, innocent civilians, who are suffering greatly."

Surprise Indian visit

India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has paid a surprise visit to Sri Lanka where he called for urgent measures to protect civilians.

Mr Mukherjee held talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse and left early Wednesday after extracting assurances of safety for Tamil civilians.

The assurance of respecting saftey zones comes amid reports of people being killed in safe zones, hospitals and ambulances being hit by shelling and several aid workers being injured while evacuating the wounded.