Urgent medical transport facilitated after 14 days

[TamilNet, Thursday, 22 January 2009, 13:36 GMT]
Nearly after 2 weeks, on Thursday ICRC escorted 44 civilians in 5 ambulances and buses to Vavuniyaa for medical treatments, initial reports from Vanni said. More than 50 civilians have been waiting for medical transport for the past two weeks and a child with head injuries died at Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital as the needed medical transport to Vavuniyaa hospital was not available.

One of the patients seeking treatment at Vavuniyaa hospital told the government officials that they were not in a hospital but in a prison and begged them to immediately send them back to their native places in Vanni.

"It is better to die in our own soil rather than here where we are treated worse than animals in government controlled areas", a patient was quoted as saying by a doctor.