14,000 Civilians displaced from Vaharai

[TamilNet, Monday, 18 December 2006, 00:37 GMT]
Nearly Fourteen thousand Tamil refugees have been displaced from LTTE-controlled Vaharai area in Batticaloa District towards the areas under the control of Sri Lankan Army (SLA), Koralai Pattu North (Vaharai), Regional secretariat sources reported on Sunday.

People continue to move through sea and land routes and are being provided with food and accommodation, Secretariat sources added.

Meanwhile, the civilians displaced from Vaharai since Monday have been settled in temporary refugee camps in twelve different locations in Batticaloa District.

According to figures released Sunday, 395 families are being provided temporary housing in Savukkady in Eravur Pattu (Chenkalady); another 130 families are settled in three schools in Kiran.

Number of displaced families living in refugee camps in other areas follow:

• 202 - Vantharoomoolai Ganesha Vidyalayam,
• 378 - Kaluvenkerny Vivekananda Vidyalayam,
• 45 - Sithandy Sithy Vinayagapuram Vidyalayam,
• 30 - Kumarveliyar village, and
• 64 - Mankerny

Relief supplies, accomodation and sanitation facilities for the people displaced from Eechilampattu, Mutur and Vaharai are being jointly provided by a number of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Batticaloa secretariat, District Secretary S.Punniyamoorthy said.

Families have recently traveled through Omadiamadu, Rithinna, Jayanthipura and Suriyaweva arrived in Valaichenai areas, Mr.Punniyamoorthy added.

According to the latest reports nearly 20, 000 Tamil civilians are trapped in Vaharai, and are undergoing facing enormous difficulties due to continuous shelling.

Amidst the prevailing shortage of supplies including food, many residents of the area have expressed desire to stay, while some have sought refuge in jungles, sources in Vaharai said.