Sri Lanka says it will care for war displaced

A top Sri Lankan official said Monday that civilians displaced by a new wave of fighting in the country's civil war had adequate food and shelter and he vowed to ensure they were cared for as the war intensified.
Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans have been forced to flee their homes in the north in recent weeks as government forces seized large chunks of territory that had been controlled by the Tamil Tiger separatists, international aid groups said.
The Red Cross said health authorities were struggling to meet the basic needs of the displaced. The U.N. said thousands were living under trees. Amnesty International said the rebels appeared to be using the displaced as a buffer against the military and said government restrictions on bringing goods into the area increased the hardship.
Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe denied anyone was living under trees, insisting all those displaced had shelter and saying there were two weeks of food stocks in place to ensure no food crisis developed.
"These are our people. They are Sri Lankan citizens, and we have taken every possible step to ensure ... that they are not abandoned," he said.