Germany suspends Sri Lankan aid

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A German minister has said the country has frozen aid to Sri Lanka because of the continuing violence between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels.

The Minister for Overseas Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, said the aid was not reaching those it was intended for - the victims of the 2004 tsunami.

The government and the rebels have not declared an end to a 2002 ceasefire, but unofficially they are now at war.

More than 3,000 people have died in the conflict in 2006, the government says.

More than 65,000 lives have been lost since 1972. The rebels want independence for the 2.5 million-strong minority Tamil community in the north and east of the country.

Talks in Geneva in October between the two sides ended in deadlock, and correspondents say that the fighting looks set to continue.

'Thousands at risk'

The German minister told a newspaper that much of Germany's aid to Sri Lanka, especially in rebel-held areas, was not reaching the tsunami victims.

The tsunami badly hit Tamil-controlled areas in north and east More than 30,000 people died in Sri Lanka in the tsunami, which also left half a million homeless.

In September, a UN special envoy said renewed conflict between the government and rebels had halted much of Sri Lanka's tsunami reconstruction work.

He added that many thousands of civilians were at risk and cut off from regular supplies of food and assistance.

In 2005, Germany pledged $647m in government aid to the tsunami-affected countries over three years.