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Stop fighting: U.N. tells Colombo, LTTE

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Following the killing of at least 14 civilians in Sri Lanka on Tuesday, the United Nations has called on the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to stop fighting, protect the innocent and resume talks. "Sri Lankans continue to suffer deeply due to this conflict, and Tuesday's loss of life is a source of deepest concern," said Margareta Wahlström, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Aerial bombing

"It is imperative that both sides to the conflict take all measures to fulfil their obligations under international law to protect civilians in this conflict; we have too often seen them fall short in this duty," she said.

Tuesday's killings took place in the north-west during the aerial bombardment of the LTTE-controlled coastal village of Illupaikadavai in Mannar District by the air force, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The statement said some 3,000 civilians had been killed in the conflict since the resumption of armed hostilities last year, bringing the number killed to 67,000. More than half a million have been forced to flee their homes throughout the country, nearly 2,13,000 of them newly displaced since the resumption of armed conflict.

"The U.N. calls once more for a cessation of hostilities between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [LTTE] and resumption of the peace process, and recalls the responsibility of all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and uphold international human rights and humanitarian law," said the OCHA.

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