COLOMBO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government said on Tuesday it would ferry 50 tonnes of food and medicine to tens of thousands of people trapped in a fast-shrinking war zone. A boat was due to leave the eastern port of Trincomalee and would bring food to the northeastern coastal area of Puttumatalan, where the military has established a new 12 km (7.5 miles) no-fire zone. Sri Lankan troops have cornered the Tamil Tiger rebels in a tiny swathe of jungle and are battling to finish off a separatist rebellion that has raged off and on since 1983 and is now one of Asia's longest-running wars. "There is no acute food shortage in the area but the government is loading 50 metric tons of food items such as milk powder, sugar, flour and medical supplies to be ferried today," S. Divaratne, commissioner general of essential services, told reporters. Another 50 tonnes would be shipped soon, he said. Aid agencies have said people trapped in the war zone lack medicine and face dwindling food supplies. They estimate around 200,000 people are trapped, although the government puts the number at 50,000-70,000. Amid growing calls to protect trapped civilians, the military established a no-fire zone inland last month, and moved it to the coast last week. It accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of firing artillery from the original no-fire zone and forcing people out of it towards the coast. The United Nations on Monday said the separatist Tigers have forcibly recruited children and a U.N. worker, and are shooting and killing people trying to flee. The Tigers could not be reached for comment. On Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross ferried out by boat 440 people, including sick and wounded, who were in the no-fire zone, its third evacuation from the area in a week. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Bryson Hull and Alex Richardson)
Members of Voice of Eelam Tamils (VET) take part in a protest in New Delhi February 17, 2009. Hundreds of VET members on Tuesday demanded to lift the ban on the ...
