UN calls for end to Sri Lankan violence

The United Nations (UN) has called for an immediate end to the "deadly shelling" from both the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

An unknown number of civilians have been killed, injured or displaced as a result of the fighting, which has intensified in recent weeks.

The Trincomalee district has been badly affected and 2,500 people have left their homes to seek refuge in Kantale.

However, Kantale is now bustling with refugees from all over the east of Sri Lanka.

Approximately 35,000 people are still trapped in a small piece of land that the government and the Tamil Tigers are fighting over.

The UN High Commissioner for Refuges (UNHCR) is helping around 4,000 people in Kantale, along with the government and other non-governmental organisations.

Amin Awad, acting UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sri Lanka, stated: "The critical need of the moment is the protection of these desperate civilians.

"All fundamental rights are currently being breached in areas like Vaharai and villages in Trincomalee district and it is imperative that direct shelling where civilians reside stops."

Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN special representative for children and armed conflict, noted that one particular shelling marked an "indiscriminate" civilian attack.

"Attacks on schools and hospitals are clear violations of international humanitarian law. The recent mortar attack by the LTTE on a school in Kallar village which killed one child and wounded ten school children is a grave violation," she noted.

The five days of shelling that the UN has condemned is the latest escalation of violence in a conflict that has claimed 60,000 lives and lasted for more than 20 years.