British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has voiced his concern over the lack of access for UN agencies in strife-torn Sri Lanka, after the United Nations condemned a civilian “bloodbath” there.
“I believe very, very strongly that the civilian situation in northeast Sri Lanka merits the attention of the United Nations at all levels,” Miliband told reporters ahead of informal meetings on Sri Lanka at UN headquarters.
The Colombo government estimates that up to 20,000 civilians are being held in the less than five-square-kilometre (two-square-mile) area where the rebels are holed up. The United Nations has said as many as 50,000 may be trapped there.
