Sri Lanka: UN ramps up aid to over 150,000 displaced by conflict

27 April 2009 – The United Nations refugee agency today began an emergency airlift operation targeting the some 150,000 people uprooted by intense armed conflict between Government forces and separatist Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka, as the world body’s top relief official continues his visit to the South Asian nation.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there are at least 50,000 people still trapped in the conflict zone, which has shrunk to less than 10 square kilometres. Read more ...

UNHCR starting emergency airlift of relief to Sri Lanka

The United Nations refugee agency said on Friday that it was starting an emergency airlift of tents and other supplies to Sri Lanka, where tens of thousands of people have fled fighting in the northeast.

The airlift, which could begin as early as this weekend, will carry 5,000 tents suitable for families and other items from the agency's stockpile in Dubai to the capital Colombo. Read more ...