Sri Lankans displaced by fighting 'in need of water'

Following recent conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government, citizens fleeing the area with their families and currently living in temporary camps and shelters are in urgent need of safe water and sanitation.

This is according to the Care International Secretariat, a consortium of 12 organisations working to fight poverty.

It stated that camps in the region of Vavuniya, which are dealing with the arrival of almost 120,000 people, need proper water supplies and semi-permanent toilet facilities to replace the trenches that are currently being used.

Despite international agencies' efforts to install water tanks and taps, the country's dry season is on the horizon and they are struggling to meet demand when it comes to water supplies.

The LTTE is a separatist group established in 1976 which is fighting for a homeland for ethnic Tamils. It is notorious for suicide bomb attacks and its use of child and women soldiers.