DATE=5/26/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-H-C-R / SRI LANKA (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262842
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations refugee agency, U-N-H-C-R,
is voicing continued concern about the plight of
civilians in Sri Lanka's Jaffna peninsula. Lisa
Schlein in Geneva reports the agency says thousands of
people have been forced to flee their homes because of
fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger
rebels.
TEXT: The U-N refugee agency says its aid workers
evacuated more than 200 of the 350 Sri Lankans who
were living in a school in Varani, about 200
kilometers northeast of Jaffna city.
The agency says the school has come under repeated
shelling. It says that in addition to being unsafe,
conditions in the school were extremely poor.
U-N-H-C-R spokesman Ron Redmond says the people
evacuated had moved from one place to another four
times during the past month to escape fighting. They
now are living in another school which the U-N agency
has repaired.
He says other displaced civilians at Varani chose to
stay there in the hopes of returning home when
conditions permit.
Mr. Redmond says the thousands of displaced people in
Jaffna peninsula are having a difficult time.
/// REDMOND ACT ///
The conditions these people are living in, in
some cases, are pretty bad. The electricity
supply has been off for several days. Many of
these people, however, are able to live with
friends and relatives. So, they are being taken
care of. The government is still getting food
in for distribution.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Redmond says despite the fighting and a 21-hour
curfew, U-N-H- C-R staff members in Jaffna have been
able to provide some assistance to about 10-thousand
displaced people in more than 40 centers.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says it has
delivered two shipments of emergency medical supplies
and surgical materials to northern Sri Lanka. A W-H-O
spokesman says the Sri Lanka government approved the
shipments after the agency warned that a health crisis
was looming in Tamil areas.
W-H-O says the health situation in Jaffna remains
critical. But, it says clinics have begun functioning
again since the delivery of medical aid. (Signed)
NEB/LS/JWH/KBK
26-May-2000 10:14 AM LOC (26-May-2000 1414 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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