U.N. seeks full access to Sri Lankan refugee camps

CNN 05/24/2009 04:22

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon welcomed Sri Lanka's pledge to dismantle the welfare villages.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- Shell-shocked and scarred both inside and out, they huddle in tents, water and medicine in short supply -- hundreds of thousands of people, civilian victims of Sri Lanka's recently-ended civil war.

"We suffered a lot because shelling was coming from everywhere," said a 38-year-old man identifying himself as Vishwamala. "Firing, shelling -- many, many people have died ... there was nobody there to carry the dead. A lot of dead were left on the road."

Another survivor, Krisha Duray, recalls "running and running" to escape shelling by both the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tiger rebels, who waged a bloody 25-year war.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday visited refugee camps housing such victims. "I have traveled around the world and visited similar places, but this is by far the most appalling scenes I have seen," he said.

Ban requested that the United Nations be provided full access to the displacement camps in order to provide aid.

Source

Add your comment Send Print Report

Add your comment

	Anonymous comment

Anonymous comment

Nickname:	Reserve nickname Reserve nickname Please select nickname you would like to use and choose your password. Nickname: Password: Retype password: Email address:
Password:
	Remember me on this computer