Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 45

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000384 SENSITIVE STATE FOR SCA (BOUCHER),SCA/INS AND PRM STATE ALSO PASS USAID AID/W FOR ANE/SCA, DCHA/FFP (DWORKEN, KSHEIN) AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA (MORRISP, ACONVERY, RTHAYER, RKERR) ATHENS FOR PCARTER BANGKOK FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA (WBERGER) KATHMANDU FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA 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: PREF MOPS PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC CE SUBJECT: Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 45 Ref: A) Colombo 374 B) Colombo 368 C) Colombo 361 D) Colombo 360 E) Colombo 357 F) Colombo 351 G) Colombo 342 H) Colombo 329 I) Colombo 321 J) Colombo 320 K) Colombo 316 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Sri Lankan Army reports it has surrounded hundreds of LTTE cadres in the eastern sections of PTK. The military reports the LTTE is moving portions of the civilian population to the southern section of the safe zone. 1,030MT of food aid and non-food items have arrived off the coast of the safe zone. A mine action assessment begins today (April 2) in Mannar. ICRC continues to face difficulties securing visas for new and replacement staff. The visas of two senior international staff of CARE were abruptly terminated. Embassy announces $15 million in additional food aid to Sri Lanka. End Summary. Army Surrounds PTK -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The military announced they have surrounded Puthukudiyiruppu (PTK),trapping several hundred LTTE cadres in the eastern part of the town. (Note: PTK was the last significant town under LTTE control.) Defense sources told DAO that the heaviest fighting continues to be around PTK East. The Army believes LTTE leaders above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel escaped before being surrounded. The battle area's closest proximity to the safe zone is 1.5km. Another significant engagement occurred last night (April 1) when three Sea Tiger craft attacked Army positions from the Nanthi Kadal Lagoon, which separates the strip of land comprising the safe zone from the rest of Mullaitivu district. The Army believes it destroyed at least one of the vessels. The Navy says the Sea Tigers are now using ordinary fishing boats mounted with light machine guns and RPGs. The Navy believes the Sea Tigers have some craft hidden in the safe area as well. LTTE Moving IDPs South Within the Safe Zone -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Defense sources told DAO they have observed LTTE directing the movement of IDPs from north to south within the safe zone. �A;According the military, the LTTE are also preparing fighting positions and moving and firing artillery and mortars within the safe zone. The U.N. reported limited shelling into and from the safe area on April 1. The U.N. said there were no reports of SLAF bombers or gunships attacking the safe zone since March 30 (ref A). Food Aid Arrives Off the Coast of the Safe Zone -------------- -- ¶4. (U) WFP confirmed that the cargo ship Dublin arrived off the coast of the safe zone this morning (April 2). Offloading of 1,030MT of mixed food commodities has begun. The shipment included an additional 30 MT of complementary food items (vegetables and condiments) donated by an INGO (ZOA) and some supplementary food from the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, as well as clothing, shelter material and 15 emergency medical kits from UNHCR and UNICEF. WFP food sent to the area will be sufficient to feed approximately 100,000 Internally Displaced Persons for a period of 20 days. Since the beginning of the 'sea route' operation, WFP has dispatched a total of 2,219 MT of mixed food to the Vanni. Deminers Begin Clearance Assessment in Mannar -------------- ¶5. (U) The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) reported to the Embassy that they are set to begin their mine action assessment of the Mussali area of Mannar immediately, using vehicles available in Vavuniya. FSD reports ongoing administrative delays in obtaining security clearances to move staff and vehicles from Batticaloa through Medawachchiya check point, but hopes to resolve them soon. FSD's launch of their demining efforts follows Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa commitment at a March 30 CCHA meeting to resettle IDPs from Mussali (up to 5,500 of them) by the end of April (Ref E). FSD has been awarded $600,000 in assistance from PM/WRA to work in the Mussali area. ICRC Continues To Face Obstacles Securing Staff Visas -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The ICRC continues to face difficulties securing GSL approval for visas for 35 replacement and short term surge capacity staff (Ref E). ICRC Country Representative Paul Castella reported that during a meeting with Foreign Minister Bogollagama on March 31, Bogollagama claimed he was lacking arguments against MOD officials who claimed that ICRC is now just doing medevacs and therefore did not need visas for new personnel. The Foreign Minister proposed that ICRC send him a summary of the activities that have increased recently so that he can counter Defense Ministry arguments. ICRC plans to send the requested summary to MFA today, April 2. President Rajapaksa to Meet ICRC President -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Foreign Minister also confirmed to Castella that President Rajapaksa would be available to meet ICRC President Kellenberger during his visit to Sri Lanka sometime before April 7. ICRC is now working on confirming an exact date and time for the meeting. Castella also invited Ambassador and a select group of other Heads of Mission to meet and brief Kellenberger. Ambassador welcomed the proposed meeting. CARE Employees Visas Revoked -------------- ¶8. (SBU) On March 31, CARE received a letter from the Immigration Department informing the organization that the residence visas of two senior international staff members were being terminated. The GSL gave the employees until April 8 to leave. The visa revocation comes on the heels of an item posted on the Defense Ministry's website alleging CARE was a "harbor for terrorists" (Ref F). CARE has asked for further details on the reasons for the revocation from immigration officials and Minister for Human Rights and Disaster management Mahinda Samarasinghe. Ambassador offered to intervene on CARE's behalf. CARE Country Director Nick Osbourne suggested Ambassador wait until more information is available. U.N. Resident Representative Neil Buhne reported that U/SYG Holmes raised U.N. concerns about the visa revocation with the Sri Lankan Permanent Representative in New York. Post will monitor developments in the case and advocate on CARE's behalf if requested by the organization. Embassy Announces $15 Million in Additional Emergency Food Aid -------------- ¶9. (U) Embassy issued a press release today (April 2) announcing USAID has donated $15 million worth of vital food aid for Sri Lanka to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). The food, consisting of wheat, lentils and vegetable oil, will be distributed to displaced and conflict-affected people in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. The food aid is scheduled to arrive in June 2009 and is enough to feed 300,000 people for over four months. The donation represents approximately 21% of the total food aid that WFP has called for this year to meet the needs of IDPs and other conflict-affected people in Sri Lanka. Approximately 65 percent of the WFP food currently going into the conflict area by ship is provided by USAID. "WFP highly values this contribution, not only that it is most needed given the current IDP situation in the North, but also because it is most timely, given the status of our pipeline," said Mr. Adnan Khan, WFP Representative in Sri Lanka. Civilian Casualties and IDP Outflow -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Sources from within the LTTE-controlled area report 39 civilians were killed and 57 injured on April 1. These sources report 177 arrivals into Government-controlled territory on April 1 and 2. (Note: Such reports from Tamil sources cannot be confirmed and are frequently exaggerated.) BLAKE