Sri Lanka

Unicef says fighting is killing hundreds of children

Article published on the 2009-03-18 Latest update 2009-03-18 15:17 TU

A Sri Lankan Navy medical personnel carries an injured Tamil baby
(Photo: Reuters)

The UN's children's fund Unicef issued a strong warning on Tuesday that the number of children being killed and injured in the fighting in Sri Lanka is being compounded by a lack of access for aid agencies to areas hit by the fighting.

The International Committee of the Red Cross also warned that the humanitarian situation was deterioating.

The Sri Lankan military has been leading an offensive against the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Ealam (LTTE) in the north of the island for several months.

Unicef spokesperson James Elder told RFI from Colombo that the organisation has seen "hundreds of children killed and many more injured in this conflict in northern Sri Lanka".

Elder said there had been "a sharp rise in the number of children killed over the past weeks" and that "both sides need to do much more to protect children from the fighting".

The Sri Lankan government estimates that 70,000 civilians are located in the north-east of the island with around 500 Tamil militants.

Unicef says that compounding the deaths and injuries that result from the fighting is a problem with access for aid agencies.

"At the same time access to this civilian population for humanitairan assessment, supplies and other support is virtually non-existant," Elder says.

The warnings from the two humanitarian agencies come as the International Fund (IMF) prepares to open talks with Sri Lanka. The country's economy has been hit both by the global economic downturn and increased spending on the military.

The Sri Lankan government has put 1.6 billion dollars into its offensive against the LTTE.