Sri Lanka’s conflict is now longer breaking headlines or shocking news in the mainstream media, but the crisis is far from over, in fact the humanitarian crisis is headed for a catastrophe, especially in the northern Wanni region. The Wanni region according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) an estimated 150,000 civilians continue to be forcibly held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and remain exposed to indiscriminate attacks by the Sri Lankan military. The continued and escalating fighting had led to thousands of deaths and thousands more have been injured. Tens of thousands more civilians are at risk of dying due to wounds caused by the conflict or subsequent illnesses caused by the lack of access to adequate food, water and medicine.
The United Nations has remained heavily concerned for the well-being of tens of thousands of civilians, especially children, in the northern region of the country. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that around 230,000 people have been displaced due to intensified fighting in the north of the country during the second half of 2008 (IRIN). Therefore causing the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to call on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to guarantee the free movement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, including some 75,000 children, out of the northern conflict areas (IRIN).
The UN calls on both sides to find an orderly and humane solution so that civilians – and children in particular – can be spared further bloodshed and loss of life due to both disease and the fighting, according to a statement issued on February 18, in Colombo.
The accusations against LTTE, have been criticized by an aid group, which is a widely believed front of the Tamil Tigers rebel group, has criticized the UN the report released stating that the rebels are preventing civilians from leaving the conflict zone and often shooting and killing civilians. Additionally, UNICEF accused the rebels of conscripting children to serve as soldiers;
We have clear indications that the LTTE has intensified forcible recruitment of civilians and that children as young as 14 years old are now being targeted, Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF’s chief in Sri Lanka, stated (BBC).
International human rights groups have repeatedly called for action due to the continuous crimes on the civilian population, including torture and the use of child soldiers, however their voices have fallen on deaf ears. The 25 year long civil war, continues to cause displacement, death, and poverty. Children continue to be the targets of the violence and hostility, as there are some quarter of a million people displaced, the large majority of whom are children, left without their basic fundamental rights to education, healthcare and nutrition. Many have longed for peace, hope for which almost all but faded with the ending of the 2002 cease fire on January 16, 2008, and as the violence escalated the last threads of hope are looking to frey.
