UN worried over Lanka relief operation

The overall scale of relief operation in Sri Lanka, where nearly 300,000 people have been displaced by the recent conflict, remains huge, while an action plan for assistance still needs 60 per cent of the requested funding, the UN humanitarian wing has said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OACHA) also reported that since Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's visit to the island nation this past weekend, an interim measure has been agreed whereby aid agency vehicles including trucks can now travel in and out of all Menik Farms zones, not only in convoy and without agency flags.

Menik Farm is among the largest camp sites hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) resulting from the fighting between Government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Last week, the Government announced that its military operation against the Tamil separatists had ended.

OCHA also noted that it has been announced that the military will relocate out of the camps, turning over all camp management activities to civilian authorities.

The overall needs in the camps remain "acute," the Office said, with the greatest needs being health posts, doctors and medical personnel, as well as water and sanitation facilities.