165,000 civilians in Wanni close to starvation: Sri Lankan rebels
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, April 25, IRNA -- On the verge of total defeat, Sri Lankan rebels said that nearly 165,000 civilians in Wanni, the areas controlled by it, were close to starvation and accused Sri Lankan authorities of blocking food and humanitarian supplies to the area.
Comparing the humanitarian crisis in the 10 sq km squathe of coastal land in Pudukudiyyiruppu to Dafur in Sudan, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a statement asked the United Nations and other international aid groups to intervene promptly to prevent a catastrophe.
"We fear that further delay can result in a crisis similar to that faced in Darfur or even deadlier," LTTE said in the statement, released by its website.
Welcoming the dispatch of UN humanitarian chief, John Holmes to Colombo, the rebels said they were 'prepared to engage in a constructive dialogue to address the humanitarian crisis in Wanni'.
The figures given by the LTTE were the first about the numbers of Tamil civilians still trapped in the areas controlled by it, while Colombo citing surrendered Tiger leaders had put the figure between 10,000 to 15,000.
However, the United Nations has estimated that the number of civilians in the conflict zone as 50,000.
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End News / IRNA / News Code 453322
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