UNICEF: 150,000-200,000 civilians trapped in war zone; Health professionals worried about the growing rates of suicides; EAM Mukherjee: No military solution to the rights of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka;
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  • 9-15 March 2009
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    The latest UNICEF humanitarian update shows that nutritional levels in the war-affected areas of Sri Lanka were lower than the national average due to the ongoing conflict compounded by a lack of supplies. The report also points out that 150,000-200,000 civilians were trapped inside the combat zone over an area of about 50 sq km.1

    Meanwhile health professionals in Sri Lanka were pointing out that a growing number of people were consuming poison in order to end their lives. Police records showed that while the numbers of suicides over the past few years have declined from 8,449 in 1995 to 4,504 in 2006 and 4,225 in 2007, more than half of the deaths recorded as suicides in 2006 were due to poison - with some 2,268 men and 519 women consuming toxic substances.2

    India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on his part stated that there was no military solution to the rights of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. The Minister added that India would provide facilities for the rehabilitation of internally displaced Tamilians.3

    In other developments, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung hoped that Sri Lanka could serve as a bridge to expand Vietnam's economic, trade and investment activities with other South Asian countries. The Minister pointed out that though bilateral trade between the two countries reached $61 million in 2008 – which was a 4 per cent increase, both countries were yet to tap their full potentials.4

    2009
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