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Sri Lanka: Camps overwhelmed by mass exodus
Sydney Morning Herald - April 23, 2009
Matt Wade Herald – Northern Sri Lanka has been engulfed by a refugee crisis as more than 100,000 civilians flee fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan troops.
In a sign Tamil Tiger resistance may be unravelling, a senior Tamil leader reportedly surrendered to the military last night.
The military says more than 100,000 refugees have crossed from the small area controlled by the rebels to Government-controlled territory over the past three days.
The mass exodus began when the military broke through a key rebel bunker on Monday.
Thousands had to wade through waist-deep water carrying their possessions to escape the combat zone. Some carried babies and elderly relatives.
The refugees are being screened by the military to ensure Tamil Tiger cadres are not among them and will then be transported to temporary camps in northern Sri Lanka.
Local television showed thousands of men, women and children sitting on a road in government-held territory, near the conflict zone, waiting to be processed by the army. A satellite image (on the right) released by the US Government yesterday showed how, before the mass exodus of the past three days, about 120,000 people were packed into a "safe zone" in the small coastal area held by the Tamil Tigers.
The Tamil Tigers ignored a government ultimatum to surrender made earlier this week and have vowed to continue their struggle for a separate Tamil homeland inside Sri Lanka. However, the rebels are surrounded by more than 50,000 troops and the Government has signalled it is determined to finish the war.
But last night Velayudam Dayanidi, better known as Daya Master and the main spokesman for the Tamil Tigers, had surrendered to government forces, the army said. A second Tamil leader had also reportedly surrendered.
A defence spokesman, Lakshman Hulugalle, said Daya Master's surrender was an "indication that the LTTE is accepting defeat" and predicted more Tamil Tiger leaders would surrender. The whereabouts of the Tamil Tiger leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is unknown but Mr Hulugalle said the army believed he was trapped inside the small area still under the rebel control. As many as 50,000 people remain in the rebel-controlled area where heavy fighting was reported yesterday.
"This is a catastrophe for those who remain trapped amid fierce fighting," said James Elder, the spokesman for UNICEF in Sri Lanka. "There are still tens of thousands of children who have been living through unimaginable hell, and are now caught in the final, intense stages of a war. With this latest surge in fighting, UNICEF's greatest fear is that many more will be killed."
On Tuesday the International Committee of the Red Cross described the humanitarian situation in the war zone as "catastrophic". It said several hundred civilians had been killed since Monday and those remaining had limited food, water and medical care.
A military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, said refugees continued to make it to Government-controlled areas yesterday.
"Rescue operations are continuing and more refugees will be received," he said.
However, aid groups are concerned conditions in the temporary camps will deteriorate quickly with the massive influx.
Mr Elder said the number of people in camps in the north of the country would more than double, from 65,000 to more than 140,000, over the next 24 hours.
"The Government needs to be doing more to show some sort of a peace dividend to people who have lived a nightmare these past months," he said.
The Government says the Tigers have used civilians as shields and has called the plan to allow refugees to leave the rebel-held area as the "biggest hostage rescue in history".
But the rebels have accused the Government of killing more than 1000 innocent people. (with agencies)
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