01 July 2008 - 17H19
Red Cross urges end to Sri Lanka violence
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for an end to violence in Sri Lanka, where at least 70,000 people have died since the outbreak of civil war in 1983.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on Tuesday for an end to indiscriminate attacks in Sri Lanka which it said killed at least 80 civilians in the past three months.
The neutral humanitarian agency also cited allegations that civilians have been killed, beaten, arrested or simply went missing after being "directly targeted" in the island nation, where 70,000 people have died since a civil war began in 1983.
At least 80 people "lost their lives in indiscriminate attacks on public transport and crowded public places" since April 1, the ICRC said in a statement reminding all sides of the conflict that international law prohibits attacks on civilians.
Fighting has escalated in Sri Lanka since the government formally scrapped a six-year truce with the separatist LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in January.
Analysts say the military has had the upper hand in the latest phase of the conflict, given its superior air power and large numbers have allowed it to capture large swathes of terrain.
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