* 36 civilians killed and 76 wounded in latest attack on ‘safety zone’

Sri Lankan government last week unveiled plans to detain a large proportion of the Tamil civilian population of Vanni for at least three years in concentration camps which it calls ‘welfare villages’.

The United Nations has warned hundreds of thousands of people, living in the war zone in the north-eastern Sri Lankan region of Vanni, are facing a food crisis.

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) formed an umbrella organisation, the Sri Lankan Tamils Welfare and Liberty Forum, to campaign demanding a political solution to the crisis in Sri Lanka.

Backing Delhi's stand on Sri Lankan ethnic conflict, ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on February 3 urged the Sri Lankan government to ‘extend its full cooperation’ to ‘work out a permanent solution which will ensure full devolution of powers and autonomy to Tamils living in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka’ while washing its hands off the ceasefire demand saying the state government had no right to interfere in the internal affairs of a foreign country.

As the number of Tamil civilian deaths mounted inside the government proposed safety zone due to artillery bombardment by Sri Lankan forces, the co-chairs and India reacted with varying responses showing disarray within the international community on Sri Lanka’s ongoing civil war.

The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, in a statement issued on Tuesday, January 27 said his government condemned the ongoing war in Sri Lanka, which has caused "unacceptable sufferings to the civilians," in the country.

Britain announced that aid to Sri Lanka would be doubled despite the south Asian island’s government refusing to heed to international calls to halt the war it’s waging in which hundreds of Tamils have been brutally killed in the past ten days alone.

The leadership of the LTTE has named Selvarasa Pathmanathan, a high profile representative of the movement, as the Head of a newly established Department of International Relations, sources close to the LTTE said on Saturday, January 31.

Sea Tigers attacked a convoy of Sri Lankan naval crafts patrolling the north-eastern seas sinking two Arrow boats, according to the LTTE officials.

LTTE fighters staged a pre-emptive strike on Sri Lankan offensive units preparing for an assault on Puthukkudiyiruppu, killing over 150 SLA troopers and wounding more than 350.

The United Nations’ Security Council, though initially formed to keep the peace between the post WW2 Great Powers, is today the hub of global peace and security in wider terms. The UNSC’s permanent members are the world’s most powerful states – those capable of decisive leadership and robust action on international peace and security issues. India, along with other rising great powers, has declared its ambitions for a permanent seat in a reformed UNSC. However, the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka is revealing the limits of Delhi’s ability to both be decisive and to act on matters at the core of the UNSC’s agenda.

The Tokyo Co-Chairs (Norway, Japan, US and EU) Tuesday called on the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms surrender to the Sri Lankan government if the civilians of Vanni are to be spared further death and suffering. The Co-Chairs said they would (thereafter) ensure an “inclusive dialogue” that will lead to lasting peace.

In well planned operation, LTTE fighters blasted off the Kalmadukulam tank bund using high powered explosives flooding a large section of A-35 between Paranthan and Visuwamadu and staged a water-bourne attack on the Sri Lankan forces deployed in the area, inflicting heavy casualties, according to media reports.