U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband declared themselves appalled by the “blood bath” that took place over the weekend in Sri Lanka. An estimated 430 civilians — of whom at least 100 were children — have been killed in fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces on the country’s northeastern coast. The question of whether Sri Lanka should receive a loan from the IMF is now on the table.
BBC News:
[Ban] urged Sri Lanka “to explore all possible options to bring the conflict to an end without further bloodshed” and asked the rebels to agree to a halt in the fighting.
The UK foreign secretary was in New York for a Security Council debate on the Middle East but he and Mr Kouchner also conducted a meeting on Sri Lanka with 10 of the 15 countries on the Security Council and aid workers and advocacy groups.
Russia, China and Vietnam were not there, arguing that say there is no need for the Security Council to take action as what is happening is a civil war, not a threat to international peace and security.