By IANS,
Colombo : The United Nations and the US condemned Monday’s suicide attack in Sri Lanka by a suspected Tamil Tiger that left 23 people dead and over 60 wounded.
The bomber exploded herself amid Tamil civilians fleeing the war zone in the country’s north where the military is battling a cornered Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The dead included children. All of them had been forced out of their homes by the fighting, a UN statement said.
“The UN reiterates that civilians must be distinguished from combatants and protected from the fighting,” it said. “It calls again on the LTTE to separate its forces from civilians under its control.”
In a separate statement, the US described the bombing as an “apparent effort by the LTTE to discourage Tamils from leaving the conflict area”.
The US urged the LTTE to allow all civilians freedom of movement.