Thursday, May 28, 2009

Sri Lanka eases restrictions at biggest camp: U.N.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government has relaxed restrictions on motor vehicles in the country's largest refugee camp that had hampered aid distribution, though the needs of people there remain acute, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently visited the Manik Farm refugee camp, where some 220,000 people displaced by the fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces in northeastern Sri Lanka have been relocated.

A 25-year war ended earlier this month with the Tigers' defeat.

The Sri Lanka government had banned the use of motor vehicles by U.N. and other aid agencies at the camp, citing concerns that some rebels might try to escape in or under the vehicles. U.N. officials had complained that the restrictions were crippling aid distribution at the camp.

>> Full Story: Washington Post

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