Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 30 (ANI): The United Nations on Thursday termed the conditions in camps for displaced Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka as “far from satisfactory” while stating that its top priority was to get an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped in the war zone to safety.

“Although the conditions are very far from satisfactory in that camp and in those transit centres, I think with huge efforts we’re beginning to get a grip on that and the basics will be there to allow people to at least survive,” Holmes said.

Food, water and other basic supplies from UN agencies and non-governmental organizations were en route to help approximately 175,000 civilians who had fled the fighting between government forces and Tamil Tigers since January, said Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes during a press conference.

While many had sought refuge in the Manik Farm camp for internally displaced persons and in transit centres and schools in and around Vavuniya, another 50,000 people were said to be trapped in the combat zone, Holmes added.

Holmes, who was recently in Sri Lanka, stated that the last four days the UN had set up 4,500 family-sized tents for internally displaced persons in northern Sri Lanka as part of efforts to ramp up humanitarian aid to thousands of civilians uprooted by intense fighting. (ANI)