Q+A-Civilians at the end of Sri Lanka's war
(For a related story, see [ID:nCOL188809])
By C. Bryson Hull and Ranga Sirilal
April 22 (Reuters) - Thousands more civilians surged out of Sri Lanka's war zone on Wednesday, escaping Tamil Tiger rebels battling a military assault aimed at freeing those still trapped inside and ending Asia's longest-running war.
Here are some questions and answers about their situation:
HOW MANY ARE TRAPPED?
That is the subject of great debate and confusion, but the International Committee of Red Cross on Tuesday said at least 50,000 were still inside. The military has said it does not have an accurate count because it is still dealing with arriving people. Most are caught in the southern half of what had been a 17 square km (7.5 sq mile) no-fire zone declared by the army, the United Nations and the military say. Most in the northern half escaped as troops moved into the centre of the narrow northeastern coastal strip, bisecting it east to west and separating the Tigers into two pockets. The remaining area is about 13 square km, the military said on Wednesday.
HOW MANY HAVE ESCAPED?
By midday Wednesday, the military said it had registered 95,000 since Monday, and more were coming. The United Nations said it had heard unconfirmed reports of up to 110,000 escaping since the exodus began on Monday, when troops blew through an earthen wall blocking a main route out of the rebel-held area. Since the beginning of the year, around 167,000 have escaped in total, the military says.
WHY CAN'T ANYONE GIVE AN ACCURATE FIGURE?
Most estimates by aid agencies were based on the number of tents seen in satellite imagery of the no-fire zone. That number was then multiplied by four or five on the assumption each contained a family. Local employees of aid agencies also provided data. The government always called the figures inflated to serve the Tiger aim of manufacturing a civilian crisis to forestall military defeat. When nearly all the civilians were in the no-fire zone, the most credible estimates on either side were from 70,000 to around 200,000. It is now clear the number was somewhere in the middle.
HOW ARE CONDITIONS FOR THOSE STILL TRAPPED?
Dangerous. The Red Cross has said the situation was "nothing short of catastrophic" [ID:nLL151511] for those trapped inside. Food, water and medical care are in short supply. The neutral humanitarian agency said hundreds were killed on Monday and Tuesday. In the past few months, the United Nations has said at least 2,800 have been killed, but the government rejects the figure as inflated.
IF THINGS ARE SO BAD, WHY HAVEN'T THEY RUN?
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have trapped them by shooting at those who try to escape, witnesses and a host of nations have said. The LTTE denies that. The government released on Monday video footage shot from an unmanned surveillance drone showing what it said were Tiger sentries firing at a packed group of several hundred people trying to escape along the beach.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO GOT OUT?
From the current exodus, the United Nations said only about 7,500 had reached the main refugee centres away from the front. The rest were in transit. The LTTE has accused the government of putting people into "internment camps", but the United Nations has said the camps are up to international standards. The only exception is that people cannot leave, nor their relatives visit, about which many in the camps have complained. The government says this is a temporary measure to weed out Tiger infiltrators, and pledges to begin resettling people by next month. Aid agencies worry that the huge influx will strain present government resources. (Editing by Jerry Norton)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
Follow Reuters