DATE=4/17/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LANKA/MSF (L-O)
NUMBER=2-261411
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
INTRO: International relief organization, Medecins
sans frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) has urged
the Sri Lankan government to allow the re-supply of
urgently needed medicine to the country's north.
Vandana Chopra has the details from Colombo.
TEXT: The international relief agency says drug
stocks have depleted in the war-torn north, and
attempts by humanitarian agencies to renew stocks have
been unsuccessful.
In a statement issued from its Colombo office,
Medecins sans frontieres says on two occasions within
the past week security forces have prevented the
transportation of drugs and medical supplies through
the forward defense lines. Meanwhile, three-months
worth of Ministry of Health supplies are still
awaiting approval and transportation into the northern
region.
The head of the mission in Colombo, Isabel Simpson,
says the shortage of medications has become so
critical that patients are being turned away from
hospitals and clinics without receiving treatment.
According to her, clinics and hospitals in the region
have closed or are no longer accepting patients
because they cannot provide treatment for these
civilians, many of whom are women and children.
The organization's statement says essential drugs for
the treatment of malaria and basic medicines such as
Paracetamol, antibiotics, and pediatric preparations
are in short supply.
Fighting continues between government and Tamil
rebels. They pounded each other with artillery and
mortar in the northern Jaffna region.
The defense ministry says at least 20 rebels were
killed Sunday. Fighting in Jaffna has intensified in
the past three-weeks after rebels mounted a push to
re-capture the peninsula, their former stronghold that
was lost to government troops in 1996.
The rebels have been waging a war for a separate
homeland for the minority Tamil community in Sri
Lanka's north and east since 1983. (SIGNED)
NEB/VC/RAE
17-Apr-2000 10:28 AM EDT (17-Apr-2000 1428 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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