Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 14: ICRC to Ship Food Aid into

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000166 SENSITIVE STATE FOR SCA (BOUCHER, CAMP),SCA/INS AND PRM STATE ALSO PASS USAID AID/W FOR ANE/SCA, DCHA/FFP (DWORKEN, KSHEIN) AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA (ACONVERY, RTHAYER, RKERR) ATHENS FOR PCARTER BANGKOK FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA KATHMANDU FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA (WBERGER) AND POL (SBERRY) GENEVA FOR RMA (NKYLOH, NHILGERT, MPITOTTI) USUN NEW YORK FOR ECOSOC (D MERCADO) SECDEF FOR OSD - POLICY PACOM ALSO FOR J-5 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PREF PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC CE SUBJECT: Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 14: ICRC to Ship Food Aid into the Vanni; UN Condemns LTTE Forced Recruitment, Targeting of Civilians Ref: A) Colombo 157, B) Colombo 152, C) Colombo 149, D) Colombo 148, E) Colombo 145, F) Colombo 140, G) Colombo 138, H) Colombo 133, I) Colombo 130, J) Colombo 129, K) Colombo 127, L) Colombo 125, M) Colombo 124, N) Colombo 116, O) Colombo 109, P) Colombo 108 ICRC to Ship Food into the Vanni; More Medical Evacuations -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On Monday, the ICRC evacuated by sea 400 wounded persons, who are now receiving medical treatment in Trincomalee. This brings the total number of medical evacuations by sea to 1145. ICRC Country Director Paul Castella told Ambassador that an ICRC-flagged ship carrying 30 tons of food plus water will sail this evening, February 17, for Trincomalee and arrive tomorrow morning. Basil Rajapaksa assured Castella that medical supplies furnished by the Ministry of Health would be sent in on this and/or subsequent ships. UN Resident Coordinator Condemns LTTE Actions -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On Monday, February 16 UN Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne publicly condemned targeting by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of fleeing civilians, noting "a growing number of people trying to leave have been shot and sometimes killed." Buhne decried the LTTE's forced recruitment of children as young as 14 years old. Buhne also condemned the forced recruitment of a UN local staff member, among 15 local staff and 75 dependents who had previously been barred by the LTTE from leaving the Vanni. NGO Contacts Report Worsening Conditions in the Vanni -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Information provided by ten international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) with local staff contacts in the Vanni indicates conditions are worsening for trapped civilians. Local staff members of CARE, Save the Children, Danish Refugee Council, Solidar, ZOA Refugee Care, Forut International, Sewalanka Foundation, Oxfam, World Vision, and World University Service of Canada remain among the internally displaced population. They report the situation in the Vanni is "tense and critical." Arrivals to the new safe zone find themselves on "very limited land without any more trees," facing water scarcity and lack of food and shelter. The Mattalan school (in the new safe zone) is now the hospital; the classroom is a makeshift operations theater. The school/hospital is reportedly at "bursting point" with 100 arrivals every day. According to these contacts, no medicines or dressings are available; without medical treatment wounds are becoming gangrenous. NGO contacts also reported shelling within the new safe zone. Food Situation in the Vanni "Dire"; WFP Food Stocks Prepared -------------- ¶4. (SBU) According to a source with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Vanni, the food situation is "really, really dire" for trapped civilians. The aid worker is concerned that malnutrition is skyrocketing, based on visual assessment of displaced people's weakening condition. (Note: this tracks with INGO local staff observations. End note.) The UN World Food Program (WFP) awaits military clearance for an overland convoy of food into the Vanni (the last one to reach the Vanni was on January 30). WFP reports they have stocked a total of 1500 MTs of food aid in Vavuniya, with another 500 MTs due to arrive next week. This supply would adequately support 100,000 people for eight to ten weeks. WFP seeks funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to procure locally and regionally to prevent any gaps in the IDP food pipeline until USAID/FFP aid arrives in June or July. Civilian Casualties Continue -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Tamil sources from within the LTTE-controlled area claim 132 civilians killed and 89 injured in a shelling incident at Devituram camp within the safe zone on February 16. The same sources indicated 135 people had reached government territory from February 15-16. (Note: Such reports from Tamil sources cannot be confirmed and are frequently exaggerated.) BLAKE