Sri Lanka: thousands of civilians still trapped

"Given the catastrophic situation of thousands of displaced, sick and wounded people still in the conflict area, the parties must do more to protect them and must allow more food and medicine into the area," said Monica Zanarelli, the ICRC's deputy head of operations for South Asia.

Since 10 February, the ICRC has evacuated close to 12,400 people – the sick and wounded and their accompanying relatives – from the conflict area by boat. The ICRC carried out its 28th evacuation on 29 April, with over 520 persons aboard the Green Ocean, an ICRC-chartered ferry.

The previous day, the ferry also brought over 30 tonnes of food donated to the Sri Lankan government by the World Food Programme into the conflict area. Further deliveries are expected in coming days. Read more ...