JRS Appeal for Access to 300,000 Trapped by War in Sri Lanka

(15 Jan 09 - RV) The Bishop of Jaffna, Northern Sri Lanka, Thomas Savundaranayagam, has once again appealed to the government in Colombo and the leaders of the Tamil Tiger separatist rebel group for an immediate ceasefire to allow aid through to 300, 000 people caught in the middle of their war. The Jesuit Refugee service together with Caritas and the International Red Cross are the few aid groups operative on the ground in the area where the war is waging. JRS International director Fr. Peter Balleis describes the situation in the northeast of the island nation as a second Gaza.