UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The United Nations is calling on Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to stop fighting, protect and resume negotiations.
The plea Tuesday follows the killing of at least 14 civilians in Sri Lanka.
"Sri Lankans continue to suffer deeply due to this conflict, and today's loss of life is a source of deepest concern," said Margareta Wahlstrom, U.N. acting emergency relief coordinator.
"It is imperative that both sides to the conflict take all measures to fulfill their obligations under international law to protect civilians in this conflict; we have too often seen them fall short in this duty," she said.
Tuesday's killings took place in northwestern Sri Lanka during the aerial bombardment of the LTTE-controlled coastal village of Illupaikadavai in Mannar District by the Sri Lankan Air Force, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. A number of children were reported killed and at least 35 other civilians injured.
Some 3,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict since the resumption of armed hostilities last year, bringing the total number killed to 67,000.
More than 500,000 Sri Lankans have been forced to flee their homes throughout the country, nearly 213,000 of them newly displaced since the resumption of armed conflict.
Additionally, 120,000 to 140,000 people remain displaced after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which ravaged the nation's southern and eastern coastal areas, and nearly 315,000 remain displaced since previous stages of the conflict.
