Bishop calls for urgent help to Batticaloa IDPs

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 March 2007, 10:23 GMT]
"Around 1,53,000 Internally Displaced People from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held areas, are suffering without sufficient food, drinking water and other basic facilities for the last four or five days. The International community and humanitarian organizations should step in immediately to help the destitute people," Rt. Rev. Kingsley Swampillai, the Bishop of the Trincomalee-Batticaloa diocese of the Catholic Church said to media, explaining the dire situation in Batticaloa district and conveying his open appeal, Sunday.

The number of IDPs is on the rise and they have sought refuge in schools, places of worships and other public buildings and they suffer immensely without food, water an other basic facilities, the Bishop said.

"I do not see any possibility of these people being resettled in their areas in the near future. Therefore, the need for International humanitarian agencies to take urgent steps to help these people is all the more important," he added.

153,047 IDPs are currently in welfare camps, according to Batticaloa district secretariat sources.