综合一区欧美国产,99国产麻豆免费精品,九九精品黄色录像,亚洲激情青青草,久久亚洲熟妇熟,中文字幕av在线播放,国产一区二区卡,九九久久国产精品,久久精品视频免费

WORLD> Photo
More civilians fleeing conflicting area in Sri Lanka
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-22 11:06

"The situation is nothing short of catastrophic. Ongoing fighting has killed or wounded hundreds of civilians who have only minimal access to medical care," said Red Cross operations director Pierre Kraehenbuehl. "I cannot remember ... as much concentrated pain and exposure to violence with very, very minimal possibilities to reach anywhere that could be called safe."

More civilians fleeing conflicting area in Sri Lanka

Civilians escape an area controlled by Tamil Tigers in north-eastern Sri Lanka in this photo taken on April 20, 2009. [Agencies]

The UN Children's Fund South Asia director Daniel Toole said he was worried about the safety of children still in the war zone because "our greatest fear is that the worst is yet to come."

The military spokesman said there was no fighting Tuesday evening, adding that it avoids using heavy, long-range weapons.

Nanayakkara said 39,081 civilians fled the war zone Monday, the most in a single day, and at least 13,000 people crossed over Tuesday, with the stream continuing.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the US was pleased so many civilians had fled, but he remained concerned about what he called credible reports of increasing casualties and indiscriminate firing on civilians by rebel forces.

Encouraged by the exodus, the government Monday asked the rebels to surrender within 24 hours, warning of a final assault if they failed. The ultimatum expired at noon (2:30 am EDT) Tuesday without a response from the rebels.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa rejected a call by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for a pause in the fighting, his office said Tuesday.

The president's office said in a statement that Rajapaksa deemed a pause "unnecessary" considering the "unexpected exodus of civilians" when the two leaders had spoken by phone Monday.

Red Cross spokeswoman Sarasi Wijeratne said the organization could not confirm or deny the figures quoted by the military. According to figures received by the Red Cross, 11,000 people crossed the front lines Monday and another 5,000 came Tuesday, she said.

The UN refugee agency said it is ready to provide shelter and aid to tens of thousands of displaced civilians.

The rebels have fought since 1983 for an independent state for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the years of violence.

沛县| 白玉县| 大姚县| 涿州市| 行唐县| 两当县| 巢湖市| 和林格尔县| 大关县| 西城区| 大宁县| 合肥市| 广昌县| 繁昌县| 泽州县| 淮阳县| 息烽县| 宜宾县| 舞阳县| 公主岭市| 灯塔市| 黑水县| 江门市| 吴江市| 玛沁县| 稷山县| 锦州市| 陈巴尔虎旗| 兴隆县| 临沂市| 鹤庆县| 辰溪县| 乌兰浩特市| 株洲市| 原平市| 台南县| 项城市| 宜丰县| 临清市| 无锡市| 泰州市|