ICRC awaits relief consignment

A consignment of relief supplies from the Government of India destined for displaced persons in areas under the control of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the island's North arrived in Sri Lanka on 15 November, Indian diplomats in Colombo said.

Dinker Asthana, the spokesperson for the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, told IRIN: "It is a fairly large consignment and we expect to clear customs formalities in the next few days."

The Sri Lankan Government said in a statement that 1,700 metric tonnes of supplies had arrived in more than 100 containers.

The supplies, including food, clothes, hygiene and sanitary materials, will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to be distributed among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in north-central areas, known as the Vanni, controlled by the Tigers.

"We have seen the relief items and they do indeed correspond to the needs of the displaced people we see in the Vanni.

We look forward to receiving this relief consignment," Paul Castella, the ICRC's new head of delegation in Sri Lanka, said in the agency's monthly bulletin.

The ICRC said that while food, water and sanitation remained the priority needs of the displaced in the Vanni, the recent monsoon rains had increased the need for shelter.

The ICRC had provided shelter for the IDPs as well as sheltered health facilities.

Fighting has intensified in the region in the past week. The Government regained control of the strategic town of Pooneryn in the Northern Vanni after a lapse of 15 years.

The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry said heavy fighting between the Forces and the Tigers had been reported at several locations in the Vanni in recent days.

IRIN