250,000 civilians are caught in combat areas and suffering the consequences of clashes between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the army of Sri Lanka. UN has forewarned the international community about the situation of civilians and has called on fighting parties to accord "immediate and absolute priority" to ensuring the protection and well-being of civilians in ethnic-Tamil majority areas. According to OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), around 230,000 people have been displaced due to intensified fighting in the north of the country during the second half of 2008.

Such is the result of the offensive the Sinhalese army launched in 2006 to occupy Tamil Eelam, the Tamil area of Sri Lanka, then largely controlled by the Liberation Tigers. Since then Sri Lanka's troops have been gaining ground and pushing rebels into a stretch of 30 squared km corner. Killinochchi and Mullaitivu were the last bastions controlled by the rebel army.

The Tigers, though, have not surrendered and therefore fighting goes on. UN has asked the two fighting parties to spare infrastructures such as schools and hospitals from destruction. It is difficult to guess the scope of the conflict and the casualties figures since Sri Lanka does not allow journalists to enter the combat area and most of NGO's have had to flee. Red Cross, which still remains there, reports that people leave combat areas despite there is "almost no area left in that part of the country where people can be safe from the ongoing hostilities".

As reported by Daily Mirror Sinhalese newspaper, the Government of Sri Lanka declared a safe zone in a small section of rebel-held territory last week. But U.N. resident coordinator Neil Buhne said there has been regular fighting even in that area. Buhne declared that "many" civilians are dying. TamilNet on-line newspaper accused the Sinhalese army of targeting civilians in the "safe zone", killing at least 300 within the last 24 hours and leaving people bleeding to death.

A war fought since the 70's

Tamils, who have been discriminated against by Sinhalese majority since independence, organized the Tamil Tigers insurgence in the 70's. Since then the guerrilla is fighting Sri Lanka with the aim of establishing an independent homeland for Tamil Eelam. For quite a long time, the Tigers have controlled most of the Tamil area and set up a de facto independent state. Last peace talks under Norwegian initiative in 2002 ended up in failure and since then Sri Lanka has kept pursuing a military solution to the crisis.

Further information:

• IPS: 'Plight of Tamils Similar to Gaza Civilians'
• The Independent: Tamil Tigers retrat to jungle
• Tamil Centre for Human Rights website