Caritas seeks $2.5m to help Sri Lanka war victims

The Vatican City-based humanitarian agency Caritas Internationalis has appealed for $2.5 million to provide emergency assistance to the war victims in Sri Lanka.

The major appeal comes as up to 120,000 people remain trapped in the war zone in the north-eastern areas still controlled by Tamil Tiger rebels. Reports indicate the rebels are keeping the civilians for use as human shields.

On Thursday, Sri Lanka pleaded for international help to assist the more than 100,000 people who have fled the conflict zones. With so many people now homeless, there are concerns over how to house them adequately. The island country has called it an "emergency humanitarian situation".

Meanwhile, civilian casualties continue to rise rapidly and conditions for those remaining have been "nothing short of catastrophic", as the International Committee of the Red Cross described.

Caritas Sri Lanka Director Fr Damian Fernando says that the extent of human suffering in the Vanni region is unbearable.

"People face terrible suffering as they’re under daily attack. Many children are caught in the war zone. Continuous shelling and displacement is taking its toll on the people who are constantly on the run. Access to medical help for the wounded is lacking. People have had little food or water for weeks," he explained.

The latest Caritas report announced that Vanni director the Rev Fr TR Vasanthaseelan was severely injured after shells hit St Anthony's Church Thursday morning. The church had also been sheltering tens of thousands of people during the ongoing fighting.

Caritas, which operates in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, says the financial assistance it is appealing for will help 100,000 people with food, clean water, basic medicine and counselling.

The organisation is further calling for an end to the fighting or at least a ceasefire to allow for the evacuation of civilians.

"Caritas is calling on the government and the rebels to guarantee the protection of civilians," Fernando said. "It is essential the bombing of safe zones is halted and that civilians are allowed to leave the combat zone. Only peaceful dialogue will ultimately find a solution to this conflict. Both parties must ensure the suffering of the people stops."

Additionally, he urged the international community to be sensitive to the human rights violations occurring in the island nation where the 25-year civil war has killed over 70,000 people.

"The international community must wake up to the suffering we’re witnessing in Sri Lanka," Fernando said. "We call on the UN to put Sri Lanka on top of its agenda and to use every means to press the warring parties to seek an end to the fighting through negotiation."

The UN Security Council has asked the rebels, who have been fighting for an independent homeland for Tamils, to lay down their arms and join talks to end the civil war and has also urged the government to let international aid agencies into the war zone.

The UN's deputy humanitarian chief, Catherine Bragg, said they have received no response.