Relief ship sets sail for Jaffna

The ship is sailing under a Red Cross flag

An aid ship carrying emergency supplies to people trapped by fighting in Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka has left the capital, Colombo.

The entire Jaffna peninsula has been cut off for more than a week following renewed hostilities between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

A month of clashes in the country has displaced tens of thousands of people.

Earlier on Tuesday, the bomb squad said it had defused explosives strapped to a pushbike in the capital.

Shortages

The BBC's Dumeetha Luthra in Colombo says it has taken days to negotiate safe passage for the cargo ship carrying emergency supplies to Jaffna.

There is a huge shortage of essential food items - prices have gone up by at least three times Kilinochchi refugee Dharmamurthi Mauran

The vessel is sailing under the Red Cross flag and is expected to take almost three days to get to the peninsula.

Supplies in Jaffna are running low and thousands of people have fled to churches seeking refuge.

One eyewitness, Dharmamurthi Mauran, who escaped from Jaffna described a severe shortage of essential food items in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi.

"They sell very little amounts of sugar and flour. Prices have gone up by at least three times. There is also a fuel shortage," he told the BBC's Tamil service.

Renewed hostilities have forced thousands to flee

"Parents are finding it difficult to find milk or food for their children. People are suffering."

The government and Tamil Tiger rebels are still exchanging fire on two other fronts in the north-east of the island, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

The curfew imposed when the hostilities began in the north is slowly being lifted.

Meanwhile in Colombo, police conducting a random spot check found what they said was an explosive device in the central market.

There have been two bombings in the capital in the past two weeks. The Tigers are the key suspects.

The international community has called on both sides to stop the violence, but it shows no signs of abating.