UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff visited camps in northern Sri Lanka today housing people displaced by the recent fighting and also flew over the former conflict zone, a UN spokeswoman said.
Vijay Nambiar's visit to camps for displaced people in northern Sri Lanka was in the area of Vavuniya, UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe told reporters.
Mr Ban is himself scheduled to visit Sri Lanka on Saturday, partly to speak with civilians uprooted by the recent violence.
Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told a news briefing yesterday that the UN, NGOs and the Red Cross need total access to the civilians. She said NGOs were encountering difficulties getting into camps for displaced people.
Reuters