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The ICRC has stepped up its relief operation in Batticaloa district in order to assist several thousand civilians who have been displaced over the past four days by fighting between the Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
These newly displaced people fled their homes in the Vavunatheevu and Karadiyanaru areas and headed for the town of Batticaloa, where they are now sheltering in local schools and in camps set up over the past few months by humanitarian organizations working in cooperation with the local authorities. Together with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, the ICRC has already provided about 5,000 of these people with 1,750 mats, 900 tents, 450 hygiene kits (soap, washing powder, razors, towels and shampoo), 850 jerrycans, 170 baby kits (laundry soap, washable diapers, baby powder, blankets and towels). The ICRC is also installing sanitary facilities and water-distribution systems at Korralankerni camp, where the newly displaced are gradually arriving. In other camps, located in Alankulam, Kiran and Mavadivembu, the ICRC is continuing to distribute drinking water on a daily basis and to build latrines and showers. The ICRC launched its relief operation in Batticaloa district in cooperation with the local authorities and other humanitarian organizations present on the ground. To order photos, please contact ICRC photo library : cid.gva@icrc.org
ICRC/SANSONI, Dominic/LK-E-00218
Distributing hygiene kits in Kiran camp,
Batticaloa. Besides food and water, the
ICRC is also providing the displaced
with essential household items, hygiene
kits, baby parcels, tarpaulins,
jerrycans, mats and sarongs.
REF:
ICRC/SANSONI, Dominic/LK-E-00224
Camp for displaced people in Kiran,
Batticaloa. Many arrived in the camps
physically and mentally exhausted,
having fled with little more than the
clothes on their backs. Their needs are
huge: temporary shelter, food, water,
sanitation facilities and essential
household items.
REF:
ICRC/SANSONI, Dominic/LK-E-00243
Setting up a water tank in Kiran camp,
Batticaloa. Soon after the crisis broke
out, the ICRC began distributing
drinking water and it continues to
provide water for several thousand
people a day with water.
REF:
ICRC/SANSONI, Dominic/LK-E-00243
Building shelters and installing water
pipes in Kiran camp, Batticaloa. In
cooperation with the local authorities,
the ICRC is striving to meet urgent
needs in the camps.
REF:
ICRC/SANSONI, Dominic/LK-E-00257
Distributing Red Cross messages in Kiran
camp, Batticaloa. Many of the displaced
lost touch with loved ones during their
flight. The ICRC is working closely with
the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society to
restore and maintain contact between
members of families split up by the
conflict.
REF:
ICRC/SANSONI, Dominic/LK-E-00271
Water point in Alankulam camp,
Batticaloa. The ICRC is doing its best
to provide the displaced with shelter,
food, drinking water and washing and
laundry facilities.
REF:
ICRC/SANSONI, Dominic/LK-E-00274
Camp for displaced people in Alankulam,
Batticaloa. The recent clashes between
government forces and the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam forced tens of
thousands of people in Sri Lanka's
eastern provinces to flee their homes
and seek shelter in camps in Batticaloa
district.
REF:
ICRC/SANSONI, Dominic/LK-E-00275
Distributing rice in Kiran camp,
Batticaloa. At the request of the World
Food Programme, which had run short on
supplies, the ICRC provided 720 tonnes
of rice for the Sri Lanka Red Cross
Society and the local authorities and
distributed nearly 80 tonnes of rice to
5,000 people in Trincomalee.
REF:
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
