Very little is now known of life beyond the frontlines in the north. With access to outsiders limited to a bare minimum, whatever is known is gleaned off secondary sources.

The Wanni, lined on either side by the Muhamalai line that runs about 12km from end to end and the Mannar-Weli Oya line that stretches 115km, is now smack in the middle of military advances by government forces and Tigers resistance.

Military success

The military movement north has proved successful though time consuming. They have gained ground especially in the Mannar sector with troops as close as 2.5km from the Viddithalathivu bay, and  now stationed just south of Periyamadhu, northwest of Madhu.

There have been limited success in the Weli Oya sector, where troops commenced their advances through the thick jungle last December. Troops have reached the outskirts of the One Four Base, and have brought at least two satellite camps of the complex under their control.

There are no civilians in the areas where the fighting is now taking place. In Mannar, troops have moved through open terrain where civilians had fled north, months earlier. In the Weli Oya sector, the frontlines are on the edges of the Mulaithivu jungles which for decades were Tiger hideouts and there are no civilians along the 12km northern FDL.

Reports tally

But the absence of civilians along the frontlines does not mean that ordinary non-combatants are not caught in the fighting. Two reports that came out last week, one by the University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) Jaffna, and another, the mid-year review of the Common Humanitarian Action Plan prepared by the United Nations' agencies in Colombo, paint a grim picture of the civilians.

They have been given armed training, forced to fight in the frontlines and also run the risk of being caught in aerial attacks as well as those by Long Range Reconnaissance Missions (LRRM) carried out by government forces.

"There is no doubt that the government is bombing and shelling people who are prisoners of the LTTE. The young are conscripted in the manner that cattle come of age are taken to the slaughter house," the UTHR report titled Trauma In The Wanni: Human Grist To The Mills Of Dual Hypocrisy, said.

The UN report also said very much the same thing - "Within the LTTE-controlled areas of the Wanni as well as south into government-controlled areas key factors which are prompting families to move from their homes include the fear of forced conscription, along with regular aerial attacks, shelling and claymore mines."

The UTHR report has been the most detailed in recent times, given the access constraints into the Wanni and those placed by the Tigers within, on the difficulties faced by the civilians. There has been continuous criticism against the Tigers on forced recruitment and giving arms training to every individual in areas under their control. Only last week Military Spokesperson Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said that all civilians in the Wanni have been imparted basic military training.

Rough estimates are that there are around 200,000 non-combatants in the Wanni though figures maintained by the various Government Agent's offices in the region quote  higher figures. Of that number close to 100,000 are probably categorised as IDPs.

Deploying civilians

Just before the A9 closed in August 2006, visitors to the Wanni said that the Tigers were deploying members from the civilian units to guard border areas from infiltrations. They were part of the Makkal Paddai or the civilian force and even wore a different uniform. The UTHR report went into details on how far the conscription had taken place.

"LTTE press gangs frequently invade homes before dawn carrying details about the residents, looking for those who have come of conscription age. A boy or girl reaching the age of 17 and failing to report to the LTTE could expect press gangs to turn up within two or three days. Others seen to be suitable are caught on the roads.

"Neither side spares government servants. The Government's Deep Penetration Unit or their proxies have killed several of them in landmine attacks. A year ago, Killinochchi AGA Nithyananthan was travelling on his motorcycle with his young daughter on the pillion. He was stopped by the LTTE and the girl was taken. Nothing more has since been heard of her," it said.

Conscripts hope

Adding - "The new conscripts, who hoped against hope that they could escape, are put through brainwashing. Given the political reality of a detested government, most are turned around. Since the LTTE sees the new conscripts as the most likely to attempt escape, they are plainly told, 'You are here to die for the nation. If you don't die today, you may die some weeks later. So why not die now?'

"They are encouraged to volunteer for risky operations. Many of those dying on the front lines are the new conscripts - those who join voluntarily now are exceptional. Persons with contacts in the Wanni say in a general way that many of those conscripted in recent times have been killed. To get a very rough idea of the number, a man who knows well a village division in South Wanni having about 200 families, told us that about 25% of those conscripted in recent years have been killed."

The mathematics

"Assuming there are around 200,000 people or 40,000 families living under LTTE control, it places the number dead in this round of war roughly at the order of 5000. This would be fairly commensurate with other estimates from the Wanni, that about 30% of those conscripted in this round of war are, by now, dead. The qualitative effect of casualties is visible in other ways.

"The injured from the frontlines are taken to the Killinochchi Hospital in buses with black tinted windows. After leaving them for a day, LTTE men come and pick up the ones who are fit to hobble about and take them back for military duties. This means that many placed on the frontlines are not fully fit to fight. Their camps being about 10 miles distance from the front, their food supply is also irregular."

While the Tigers are only recruiting those above 17 years, those under 16 have been asked to join voluntarily.

The UN report said that displacements have not been as high as feared at the beginning of the year - the total possible case load has been reduced by almost 25% to 230,000 from 300,000.

"Although the situation in the north remains volatile, displacement levels have been lower than anticipated. Planning figures at the beginning of the year put potential displacement at up to 300,000 people, which has been revised down to 230,000. Based on the pattern of current fighting, pockets of people are likely to continue to move both to safer areas within the LTTE-controlled areas of the Wanni as well as south into government-controlled areas," the report said.

Food issues

Rising food prices have been compounded by access difficulties and food security remains one of biggest concerns for relief agencies. "Food security is likely to deteriorate further as prices continue to rise and the effects of the conflict in the north intensify with likely consequences including increases in under-nutrition rates and household poverty," the report said.

Funding requirement for food rose from US$ 68 million when the funding requirements were released at the beginning of the year to a staggering US$96 million within six months. Unfortunately only 36% of the requirement or US$34 million, leaving a gap of US$61 million came through. The food requirement is almost half of the revised funding requirements of US$195 million. The second largest, shelter at US$34 million appears smaller in comparison.

Delicate situation

The situation in the Wanni is not only delicately placed but can spiral out of control without much warning. As was the case two weeks back when the threat of mass shortages became very real after the ICRC stayed away from the Omanthai crossover point for six days.

"The priority area for humanitarian relief is now centred on the conflict affected zones of the north where access remains difficult and the number of IDPs has slowly increased during the first five months of 2008, and could rapidly increase at any time. Security concerns, access restrictions and limits on the importation of food, fuel, medicines, equipment and other materials, have made the implementation of relief operations increasingly complex and added to the cost of operations," the UN report said.