Wounded civilians evacuated from Sri Lanka's north
Updated
The United Nations has evacuated hundreds of severely wounded civilians from behind rebel lines in Sri Lanka.
The evacuation came as government troops fought to secure final victory over Tamil Tiger rebels in the island's north. Human rights bodies have called for immediate steps by both the government and Tamil tigers, to a quarter of a million people trapped in the region.
Presenter: Sally Sara
Speakers: Gordon Weiss, United Nations spokesman; Sophie Romanens, Red Cross spokeswoman; Professor Robert Rotberg from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
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SALLY SARA: The Sri Lankan Government is determined to get rid of the Tamil Tigers. Government troops are pushing into territory which has been held by the Tigers for almost a decade.
Elephant Pass, Kilinochi and the Jaffna Peninsula have been captured by the Sri Lankan army. The remaining Tamil Tiger rebels have been cut off.
But United Nations spokesman Gordon Weiss says thousands of civilians have also been stranded.
GORDON WEISS: There are a quarter of a million people who are in peril because they have been forced into a pocket of territory the size of a third of London and there is intense fighting going on at the moment over that territory between the Government and the Tamil Tigers.
SALLY SARA: In the past 24 hours the United Nations and the Red Cross have escorted a convoy of ambulances across the frontline. Gordon Weiss says more than 220 civilians were evacuated.
GORDON WEISS: Fifty of those were seriously injured children. It was allowed to go out this morning across government lines and it is on its way to a hospital where these people can be treated.
SALLY SARA: The Sri Lankan Government has accused the UN and the Red Cross of exaggerating the situation and has denied any crisis.
The Government has also promised to maintain safe zones for civilians. But Red Cross spokeswoman Sophie Romanens says the zones are providing little safety for civilians.
SOPHIE ROMANENS: Well at the moment there is no place where these people are safe. The situation remains very difficult for the people in that area.
SALLY SARA: The latest fighting has been a big turning point in the war between the Government and the Tamil Tigers.
Until now, the Tigers have been one of the most resilient and organised rebel forces in the world. The group is the only terrorist organisation to have its own navy and air force.
But now its remaining soldiers are almost surrounded by government troops determined to go all the way to eliminate them.
Professor Robert Rotberg from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard says winning the war is one thing but extinguishing the Tiger's desire for a Tamil homeland is another.
ROBERT ROTBERG: The Government must turn to political solutions for its minority problem - something which was caused by the governments of the 50s and the 60s really brought this upon the nation, now needs to integrate the Tamil minority effectively into the body fabric of the country.
SALLY SARA: In the short term, the focus is on the battle field. The Sri Lankan Government is calling on the Tamil Tigers to surrender. But the rebels are trying to hold on to their remaining territory.
