The United Nations and the Government yesterday (05) announced the launch of a $50 million appeal to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the rising number of civilians fleeing the LTTE grip, states in a statements issued May 05 by the U.N. Headquarters, New York.

The statement said, the number of people seeking shelter in makeshift government camps rose from 65,000 to almost 190,000 in just a few days following a mass exodus from the conflict zone when government forces breached the LTTE defences on 20 April.

The appeal to fund emergency relief aid targets the most urgent humanitarian needs for an estimated 250,000 people, including sanitation, shelter, nutrition, health and protection, as well as educational requirements for thousands of children who have been without schooling for months during the conflict.

Last week, hundreds of people who had escaped the fighting more than a year ago returned home last week to the Mannar district and the appeal includes agricultural and economic projects to support similar returns. The Government says that it intends to return 80 per cent of the displaced to their homes by the end of 2009, it added.

“I have appealed to the LTTE to let civilians go and stop forced recruitment,” UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon said.