Fear stalks Tamil port of peace

By Soutik Biswas
BBC News, Trincomalee

"Peace is happiness," reads a poster visible from the road as our car rolls into this picturesque port city on the north-east coast of Sri Lanka.

Thousands of villagers have fled their homes in Tamil areas

In more peaceful times, Trincomalee's long beaches are popular with surfers, scuba divers and whale watchers. Locals talk proudly about its natural deep water harbour.

Today, there is palpable fear over the town.

The escalation of violence between the Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lanka's security forces over the past three weeks - about 100 people have died, some 70 of them soldiers - has disrupted life in this region.

Now two days of air strikes in the region have worsened matters.

Most of the air strikes have been in coastal areas off the Koddiyar Bay area in the Tamil-dominated Muthur division, say non-governmental organisations working nearby.

Those territories contain both government-controlled and Tiger-held areas, and are a good three-hour drive from Trincomalee town.

Fleeing

Thousands of people fled their homes as the military launched fresh air strikes on Tamil Tiger targets.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says there has been a "large displacement" of people living in these areas since the latest air strikes, but it is difficult to put down a number.

The ICRC here also tell us that they have evacuated two seriously wounded civilians from the Muthur area.

The organisation says it will carry out an assessment of the numbers of displaced people in this area after the air strikes.

Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have carried out food and water supply operations in these areas since the air strikes came to an end on Wednesday.

Some have already been forced to flee their homes around inland areas over the past three weeks after homes belonging to Tamils were allegedly attacked by mobs.

Some estimate that up to 8,000 Tamil civilians fled, but that figure is impossible to confirm.

Uncertainty

Along the 250km (150-mile) highway from Colombo to this tense port city, there is increased army surveillance and regular patrols.

In Anuradhapura, famous for its elephant sanctuaries, foreign tourists are still going on safaris under the watchful eye of the soldiers.

Drivers in Colombo and on the road to Trincomalee face checks

"It is just a few terrorists who are bringing unrest to this region. Otherwise, not all Tamils support the rebels," says one Sinhala highway snack seller, who asked not be named.

NGOs here say the end of government air strikes is a good thing.

"If the offensive ceases, people who fled from the affected areas are likely to return to their homes soon. But it just requires one strike to light a fire here again, and things may again get out of control," said one official.

"For the moment, the people of Sri Lanka do not know what will happen tomorrow, let alone the future," says Mohammed Kalim, a driver in Colombo.

People in Trincomalee do not even know what will happen in the next few hours. All they can do is wait and pray for things to get better.