250,000 civilians trapped in intense fighting

Médecins Sans Frontières is very concerned for the safety of an estimated 250,000 people trapped in heavy fighting in the Vanni area in Sri Lanka. Hundreds of civilians are reported to have been wounded and killed during the last days as the area controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has shrunk in the face of the government of Sri Lanka’s military offensive.

Médecins Sans Frontières has received reports from the Vanni that the plight of the civilians is dire. Hospitals are coping to the best of their ability, but are running low on drugs and medical staff. Ambulances are having difficulty moving across front lines to evacuate wounded. Médecins Sans Frontières is standing by with medical staff and supplies, but has not been permitted to enter the area since the government told all NGOs and UN to leave the area in September 2008. This order was despite several requests from the Sri Lanka Ministry of Health staff still in the Vanni.

Though roughly 2000 people have managed to cross to the relative safety of Vavuniya in the past weeks, most of the population is unable to leave. It is vital that both parties to the conflict respect the right of the civilians to seek safety, and to facilitate their movement in whatever way possible.

In the Vavuniya area, Médecins Sans Frontières is prepared with mobile clinics in case of large-scale displacement and a surgeon will soon arrive to provide additional support to the Vavuniya hospital.

Médecins Sans Frontières already provides mental health support by strengthening existing structures in the Vavuniya area and provides laboratory support to the hospital, as well as ambulatory feeding programs in the area.  Médecins Sans Frontières also works in Point Pedro hospital in the Jaffna Peninsula, at the north tip of Sri Lanka, providing medical and surgical activities, obstetrical and gynecological treatment and training to hospital staff.