Over 50 000 IDPs in cleared areas says govt.

ICRC completes 13th evacuation but does not know how many civilians left

By Uditha Jayasinghe

The influx of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) have topped the 50, 000 mark, according to the government. However it is unclear how many remain trapped in the conflict zone.
Speaking to The Bottom Line Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed that the figure was around 53, 000 with the fresh flow of IDPs coming in from the conflict zone increasing over the past few weeks. The Navy rescued 139 Tamil civilians on two occasions on Monday. The first group consisted of 126 persons while the second group consisted of 13 persons.
Meanwhile the International Red Cross (ICRC) completed their 13th medical evacuation on Sunday bringing in 493 injured people and their relatives to the Pulmodai hospital where the Indian medical staff are carrying out treatments. Nonetheless they were unable to give figures as to how many more people remained in the conflict zone.
“Since we began the evacuations using the Green Ocean vessel we have brought out 5069 patients and their hospitals and the ICRC hopes to continue this process for as long as there is necessity. Earlier we handed over the patients to government officials at the Trincomalee hospital but with the establishment of the one in Pulamodai all patients are being transferred there. Our task is only to ensure their safe transportation,” said ICRC Spokesperson Sarasi Wijeratne.
She also noted that there was no indication of a major outbreak of communicable diseases in the camps and adequate medical supplies were being sent. The Green Ocean carried the third supply of medical equipment to Pudumattalan over the weekend. The spokesperson pointed out that future evacuations were necessary given that people were still finding their way to the Pudumattalan hospital. So far the ICRC has been conducting evacuations roughly around twice a week. In addition the Essential Services Commissioner S. Divaratne will send a second convoy of 20 lorries carrying essential items to the Jaffna peninsula on the A 9 road tomorrow.
According to the sources, on the return trip to Colombo these lorries would transport vegetables and fish from Jaffna. On the previous trip the convoy brought back about 6,000 kilos of similar products.