More than 200,000 people have been displaced in Sri Lanka since April when a fragile ceasefire turned into new conflicts between government forces and the Tamil rebels, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR said on Friday.

Over the last few days, UNHCR has dramatically revised the number of Sri Lankans who have had to flee their homes, spokeswoman for the agency Jennifer Pagonis told reporters.

The number of people displaced since April this year now stands at 204,602, she said, adding that UNHCR staff have gained greater access to areas of the country previously cut off by fighting.

While humanitarian agencies are still not able to reach all of the sites where displaced families were sheltering, UNHCR is pleased that agencies are now able to move into Muttur town, an area that has been at the center of military operations, according to Pagonis.

She said a joint UN mission was assessing security and immediate needs in Muttur to make sure they provided the right sort of aid over the coming days.

In addition to the people displaced within Sri Lanka, another 8,742 Sri Lankan refugees have arrived in India since the start of the year, Pagonis added.

She repeated UNHCR's deep concern for "those fleeing across the Palk Straits on often unseaworthy and overcrowded vessels." The Palk Straits lie between Sri Lanka and India.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2006)