17 November, 2006 - Published 13:39 GMT

Food supplies sent back from FDL

The security forces in Sri Lanka have sent back food supplies sent to refugees in the LTTE-held areas in the east.

Civil administrators in Batticaloa said the civilians are caught in the increasing fighting in the Vakarai area.

Food and medicine supplies are rapidly running out for nearly 30,000 residents and refugees, they said.

Essential supplies were earlier prevented as the Forward Defence Line (FDL) at Mankerny has not received authorisation though the Defence Ministry authorised District Secretary to provide supplies.

President's pledge

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has promised Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians to remove all obstacles, MP P Ariyanethran said.

A group of TNA MPs met President Rajapaksa in Colombo on Thursday.

But the security forces on Friday have returned 10 lorry-loads of supplies provided by the District Secretariat at Cobra junction, officials said.

However the officials were allowed to travel to the FDL at Mankerny.

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has told civil officers that the supplies were stopped due to security reasons.