ICRC monitoring condition of Jaffna displaced

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 May 2000, 13:09 GMT]
Aid agency sources in the north said that the Sri Lanka Army lifted the curfew in the Jaffna municipality area today from 9 a.m to 12.30 p.m. The town was generally quiet they said. The ICRC spokesman Harasha Gunawardena told Tamilnet that his organisation visited three camps for the displaced in Manipay today. He said that ICRC, along with Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (Jaffna), continues to monitor and assess the humanitarian needs of the displaced population in Jaffna.

Thousands of civilians left the northern town earlier in the week following radio broadcasts by the Liberation Tigers asking residents in the Jaffna municipal area to leave to safer locations in the Valigamam west sector of the peninsula. Most of them are staying with friends, relatives, schools, temples and churches in several parts of the peninsula's Valigamam division aid agency sources in the north said.

The ICRC, however, said that it is not in a position at this juncture to give the total number of displaced civilians staying in the Valigamam sector currently.

The ICRC visited the Manipay camps for the displaced together with the SLRC today. The camps are located in three schools in the area. There are 916 families (4110 persons) in these camps according to Mr.Gunawardena.

The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (Jaffna branch) hopes to commence mobile health clinics in these camps for the displaced Mr.Gunawardena said.

He said that the Jaffna Teaching Hospital continues to function. As at 3 p.m. today there were 87 patients in five wards; and of these, 22 are war wounded civilians according to him. No new war wounded civilians were admitted to the hospital in the last 24 hours Mr. Gunawardena said.

ICRC visited the Manthikai hospital in Pt.Pedro yesterday. Four civilians wounded in shelling were admitted to this hospital yesterday.