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Leading News from Sri Lanka ::
Sept 30, The United Nations refugee agency today said it is deeply concerned about the safety of the more than 250,000 displaced people housed in the welfare centers in northern Sri Lanka after reports of few skirmishes between the troops guarding the camps and the civilians.
Recently disregarding instructions, an attempt by a group of displaced civilians in the Menik Farm Camp to move from one camp to another, created a scuffle between the security forces personnel on sentry duties and the crowd.
The troops were forced to open fire when the angry crowd threw stones at the sentries to disperse the crowd. Several people including a child had been injured in the scuffle.
UNHCR called upon the government to ensure the protection and physical security of the IDPs and to undertake a swift investigation into the event.
The police have arrested 19 persons who motivated the crowd to rebel against the security forces personnel.
In an earlier incident a youth who had fled the camp and tried to reenter was injured when the Army tried to capture him.
Issuing a statement Tuesday the UNHCR said the latest incidents reinforces repeated calls by the UN and the international community to the government to accelerate the return process and restore freedom of movement for the IDPs in the camps.
The humanitarian agency also urged the government to decongest the overcrowded camps before the monsoon rains arrive.
Meanwhile, a report issued by the UN agencies overseeing the operations in the IDP camps said the government has indicated the need to decongest the Menik Farm considerably.
Every 2 to 3 days a caseload of 500 to 600 IDPs is being moved from Menik Farm to transit camps in Jaffna. The transit camps are not supported by the UN, it said. Limited numbers of these IDPs have been allowed to return home or to host families with the IDPs originating from the Jaffna islands are returning first.
Another caseload of IDPs has been identified for movement to Trincomalee over two weeks ago, but has not moved yet, the report said.
According to the UN Logistics Cluster, they are making preparations for the approaching monsoon rains by increasing the food stocks and transport capacity.
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