Thousands displaced in eastern Sri Lanka
The number of refugees in eastern Sri Lanka climbed past 100,000 after heavy fighting in rebel-held parts of the island forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes in recent days, the Red Cross said on Saturday. Battles between government troops and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels have escalated in parts of the country’s rebel strongholds after a few weeks’ lull. International Committee of the Red Cross official Davide Vignati said that, since November, some 105,000 displaced people have fled to government-controlled refugee camps in the eastern district of Batticaloa. Full Story