Sri Lanka invites U.N.'s Ban, rebels allege starvation

Source: Washington Post

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka said on Wednesday it had invited U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to visit camps where 200,000 people are being held after fleeing the closing battles of the island nation's war against Tamil Tiger separatists.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) meanwhile urged the United Nations to escort a ship full of aid, organized by sympathizers in the Tamil diaspora in Britain, into the war zone to stave off what it said was looming starvation.

Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in the less than 5 square km (2 sq miles) of the northern coast, where the badly outnumbered Tigers are fighting a last-ditch battle against a military smelling imminent victory in Asia's longest modern war.

The apparent conventional end to a conflict nearing its 26th year drove the Colombo Stock Exchange to a second straight six-month high on Wednesday, traders said.



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