Fighting exiles 204,000 Sri Lankans

FIGHTING between Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels and security forces has forced at least 204,000 people from their homes in the eastern and northern parts of the country, the UN food agency warned yesterday.

The figure rose from about 182,000 to 204,000 in just a week and the numbers are still increasing, Jeff Taft-Dick, country director of the World Food Program, told reporters.

He cited the most recent figures from the U.N.’s refugee agency.