Apr 30, Colombo: Thousands of civilians still trapped in the no-fire zone due to the on going war between the Sri Lankan troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) need more food and medicine, the ICRC said today.

ICRC's deputy head of operations for South Asia Ms. Monica Zanarelli said "Given the catastrophic situation of thousands of displaced, sick and wounded people still in the conflict area, the parties must do more to protect them and must allow more food and medicine into the area."

The ICRC said since February 10, the ICRC has evacuated close to 12,400 sick and wounded civilians and their accompanying relatives from the NFZ by boat.

The ICRC with the assistance of Sri Lanka Navy ferried 499 sick and wounded last two days by the sea route to Pulmoddai.

The ferry en route to the NFZ brought over 30 tonnes of food donated by the World Food Programme into the conflict area and further deliveries are expected in coming days, the ICRC said.

The ICRC said over 100,000 civilians have reached the government-controlled areas last few days and the authorities have taken steps to restore links between separated family members by making available postal and telephone services and by starting to make arrangements for family visits to camps for displaced people.

The ICRC has offered to help the authorities by providing tracing services.

The ICRC said together with its partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement continues to address the urgent needs of displaced people. They have installed water tanks and built latrines and currently are in the process of erecting over 1,800 tents for over 7,200 persons.