United Nations Radio

An increasing number of children, some just months old, have been injured in the fighting in Sri Lanka in the past 10 days.

child's hand on a barbwire fence

And the UN children's agency (UNICEF) is calling the situation a crisis for children.
The agency again called upon the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to give absolute priority to the safety of children and the wider civilian population.

UNICEF's Regional Director for South Asia Daniel Toole says there is "clear evidence that children are being caught in the crossfire, and that children are being injured and killed." He says "it is crucial that safe areas, schools and medical facilities are protected and considered zones of peace, in all circumstances."

Mr. Toole says "children are bearing the brunt of a conflict which is not theirs." And the agency is "gravely concerned for the tens of thousands of children who are trapped in a fast shrinking area of intense conflict."

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.
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