'Let civilians go' says UN Secretary General to LTTE
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon Friday (March 6)
called on the LTTE to remove its weapons and fighters from areas of
civilian concentration to cooperate in all humanitarian efforts
calculated to relieve the suffering of civilians and to immediately
cease recruitment of children.
The statement: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is
extremely concerned over the deteriorating situation for civilians
trapped in Northern Sri Lanka.
He strongly deplores the mounting death toll of
civilians in the area of fighting, including a significant number of
children.
There is an urgent need to bring this conflict to a
speedy end without further loss of civilian life.
In this respect, the Secretary-General renews his call
to the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) to suspend hostilities for the purposes of allowing civilians to
leave the conflict zone and allowing immediate humanitarian access to
them.
The Secretary-General calls on the LTTE to remove its
weapons and fighters from areas of civilian concentration, to cooperate
in all humanitarian efforts calculated to relieve the suffering of
civilians and to immediately cease recruitment of children.
The Secretary-General strongly urges the Government to
begin serious efforts to resolve the underlying causes of conflict, the
spokesperson added." |
