A senior western diplomat has warned that living conditions are deteriorating for tens of thousands of civilians displaced inside Tamil Tiger rebel-held areas in northern Sri Lanka. It is a humanitarian disaster waiting to happen, he says.

“We have one of the biggest humanitarian problems emerging in the north at the moment. Unfortunately it’s not attracting enough international attention,” the diplomat, who’s familiar with the Sri Lankan situation, told the BBC.

Sri Lankan security forces are carrying out a multi-pronged offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels in the north and some army units are reported to be very close to the town of Kilinochchi, where the Tamil Tigers have their administrative headquarters.

The United Nations says more than 200,000 people have been displaced in the latest round of fighting and they have been moving from place to place inside Tamil Tiger-controlled areas.

With the army capturing more and more territory from the rebels, the civilians have now been confined to a smaller region. Sooner or later hostilities are expected to break out in areas not very far from them. Some fear that they might get caught in the crossfire.

The diplomat, who didn’t want to be identified, said Western governments had lost interest in Sri Lanka because “they think that there is little value of going back to the peace process because they are not sure whether the rebels will negotiate in good faith”.

Political threat

With the international community showing little interest in the Sri Lankan conflict, the Tamil Tigers now appear to have turned towards their supporters and political parties in neighbouring India to bring about a ceasefire in the island nation.

BBC NEWS