HONG KONG, April 27, 2006 (AFP) - Government air strikes in northeast Sri Lanka have caused thousands of people to flee their homes, the United Nations refugee agency said Thursday.

UNHCR spokesman Lyndon Jeffels said UN staff could not confirm local government figures in the district of Trincomalee that 40,000 had been driven from their homes by two days of air strikes against Tamil Tiger rebels.

But he said it was clear that many thousands of frightened people were on the move.

"Certainly it seems that there is a very significant displacement as a consequence of the aerial bombardment," Jeffels told BBC radio.

He added: "Two weeks ago there was a bombing in the market place in Trincomalee, which unfortunately killed 16 people. Now, as a consequence of that, around 3,000 people have been dispaced to villagges in and around Trincomalee town.

"As a consequence, the airstrikes on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday morning have precipitated a much wider displacement.

"The local government authority in Trincomalee district has issued a figure of 40,000 people on the move in Mutur, which in the east of Trincomalee. This figure we haven't been able to verify because we simply don't have access to this area," he said.

Jeffels said the situation in northeast Sri Lanka was extremely tense and that most humanitarian workers were confined to their homes.

The Sri Lankan air force has launched a series of strikes aimed at Tamil Tiger positions in the northeast since the Tigers were blamed for a suicide bombing on Tuesday in Colombo targeting the head of the army.

Reports from northeast Sri Lanka say at least 18 civilians have been killed in the latest unrest.

©2006 AFP All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed. All reproduction or redistribution is expressly forbidden without the prior written agreement of AFP.

top