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| UN relief team heads to Sri Lanka | |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| The UN is to send a humanitarian team into northern Sri Lanka, as fears grow for thousands of civilians trapped in the region by fighting. | |
| The organisation estimates that 50,000 people are still in the crossfire. | |
| Sri Lanka's government has rejected a UN appeal to allow more aid agencies into the war zone, where the army is closing in on Tamil Tiger rebels. | |
| The government says 100,000 people have fled since Monday's military push, in addition to 60,000 in recent months. | The government says 100,000 people have fled since Monday's military push, in addition to 60,000 in recent months. |
| UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the immediate despatch of the humanitarian team at a news conference in Brussels. | |
| "So many lives have been sacrificed. There is no time to lose," Mr Ban said. | |
| name="story"> class="bodl" href="#map">See a map of the region | |
| He said the new team would monitor the situation and the UN would do "whatever we can to protect the civilian population who are caught in the war-zone."" | |
| The deal to allow in the UN team was brokered by top UN official VJ Nambiar when he met Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse. | The deal to allow in the UN team was brokered by top UN official VJ Nambiar when he met Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse. |
| Rejected appeal | Rejected appeal |
| Thousands of people are caught with the Tamil Tigers in a 12 sq km (5 sq m) area in the north of the country as the military closes in. | |
| We are going very slowly to rescue the remaining civilians... Our troops are not using heavy fire power Gotabhaya RajapaksaSri Lankan Defence Secretary Colombo rejects UN civilian plea | We are going very slowly to rescue the remaining civilians... Our troops are not using heavy fire power Gotabhaya RajapaksaSri Lankan Defence Secretary Colombo rejects UN civilian plea |
| The UN's humanitarian coordinator, Neil Buhne, said tens of thousands of people were living in camps in the northern town of Vavuniya. | |
| "I saw infants with dysentery, malnourished children and women, untended wounds, and people dressed in the ragged clothing they've been wearing for months," the Associated Press quoted him as saying. | |
| Paul McMaster, a British surgeon with Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), told the BBC a "continuous stream" of patients had been arriving at the hospital in Vavuniya since the weekend. | |
| He said the hospital was equipped with 400 beds but was treating nearly 2,000 patients, many of them with gunshot wounds and blast injuries. | |
| "We are doing emergency surgery, but our difficulty is the hospital is completely overwhelmed," he said, with patients lying on the floor, in corridors and outside under trees and temporary shelters. | |
| "Trying to maintain any reasonable amount of post-operative care is a major challenge," said Dr McMaster. | |
| Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa earlier rejected a UN appeal to allow aid agencies in. | Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa earlier rejected a UN appeal to allow aid agencies in. |
| "It's not a sensible thing at the moment," he told the BBC. "There is a civilian rescue operation going on in the area and allowing aid agencies inside the conflict zone is not matching with ground realities." | "It's not a sensible thing at the moment," he told the BBC. "There is a civilian rescue operation going on in the area and allowing aid agencies inside the conflict zone is not matching with ground realities." |
| While the government has allowed aid agencies to help those fleeing the conflict, Sri Lanka's UN ambassador says only the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Catholic charity, Caritas, have been let into the war zone itself. | While the government has allowed aid agencies to help those fleeing the conflict, Sri Lanka's UN ambassador says only the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Catholic charity, Caritas, have been let into the war zone itself. |
| The ICRC said they had evacuated 530 people on Thursday and 350 the day before, including families as well as sick and wounded people. | The ICRC said they had evacuated 530 people on Thursday and 350 the day before, including families as well as sick and wounded people. |
| 'No heavy fire' | 'No heavy fire' |
| Late on Wednesday the UN Security Council called on the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms, and urged the Sri Lankan government to allow international aid agencies into the areas where people need help. | |
| View satellite images showing area in northern Sri Lanka where refugees have gathered on the beach.In pictures | View satellite images showing area in northern Sri Lanka where refugees have gathered on the beach.In pictures |
| Advocacy groups have been critical of the Council, accusing it of inaction in the face of the suffering in Sri Lanka. | Advocacy groups have been critical of the Council, accusing it of inaction in the face of the suffering in Sri Lanka. |
| The UN and other Western nations - including the US and the UK - have been pressing for an immediate halt to the fighting to allow time for civilians to leave the war zone safely. | The UN and other Western nations - including the US and the UK - have been pressing for an immediate halt to the fighting to allow time for civilians to leave the war zone safely. |
| The government categorically denies rebel charges that hundreds of civilians have been killed by the army. | The government categorically denies rebel charges that hundreds of civilians have been killed by the army. |
| "We are going very slowly towards the south of the no-fire zone to rescue the remaining civilians," said Mr Rajapaksa, the most senior civilian official in charge of the war. | "We are going very slowly towards the south of the no-fire zone to rescue the remaining civilians," said Mr Rajapaksa, the most senior civilian official in charge of the war. |
| "Our troops are not using heavy fire power, they are using only guns and personal weapons," he added. | "Our troops are not using heavy fire power, they are using only guns and personal weapons," he added. |
| The Tamil Tigers, meanwhile, deny accusations that they are holding civilians as human shields. | The Tamil Tigers, meanwhile, deny accusations that they are holding civilians as human shields. |
| MAP OF THE REGION Click here to return | MAP OF THE REGION Click here to return |
| Are you in Sri Lanka? What is your reaction to events? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below. | Are you in Sri Lanka? What is your reaction to events? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |