Sri Lanka
Decades of violent conflict have killed more than 100,000 people, left many more injured and homeless, and severely damaged the economy
After more than 25 years of fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government, the conflict appears to have ended in a victory for the government forces in May 2009.
The scars of civil war run deep, and law and order is yet to be completely restored. Sri Lankans are still “disappearing” and violence often goes unpunished.
The country’s official classification as lower middle income masks huge inequalities. Half the population live below the poverty line, and there has been a fall in state support for education, health, and other social services.
We are supporting those affected by the recently-ended war through our Sri Lanka Crisis Appeal . Our partner Caritas Sri Lanka is providing emergency support for displaced civilians to help them return home and rebuild their lives.
Our partners are also promoting lasting solutions to the underlying problems that fuelled the conflict.
![]() | Give to the Sri Lanka Crisis Appeal Make a donation to help the poorest people of Sri Lanka - please support our charity work there. A gift from you really will make a difference to thousands of people |
![]() | Sri Lanka: Bishops say all must be allowed home Bishop John Rawsthorne of Sheffield and Bishop John Arnold of Westminster call for Tamils displaced by civil war to be allowed to return home after visiting camps in Sri Lanka |
![]() | Sri Lanka: Forced to abandon a life's work Before the fighting came, elderly farmer Ganeshan says his life was “fairly comfortable”, happily working his 14-acre plot daily to feed his family |
![]() | Sri Lanka: Partners seriously injured in shelling Our partners working in the Vanni conflict zone in Sri Lanka have been severely wounded during the latest spate of shelling |
![]() | Sri Lanka: "Final assault" is no answer We are gravely concerned about the fate of an estimated 100,000 civilians as Sri Lanka's government announces plans for a "final assault" in the Vanni region, following the expiry of a deadline for Tamil Tigers to surrender |

![Our partner, Caritas provided food, water, and other essentials to camp residents in Batticaloa when they were displaced by fighting further north [David Snyder]](/var/storage/images/about-us/where-we-work/sri-lanka/images/man-in-camp/1179312-1-eng-GB/man-in-camp_1column50_12space_landscape.jpg)
![Tamil women and girls hold plastic cups in a temporary refugee camp in Vavuniya, northern Sri Lanka [REUTERS/Nir Elias courtesy of www.alertnet.org]](/var/storage/images/where-we-work/sri-lanka/images/girls-queue-for-water/1029302-1-eng-GB/girls-queue-for-water_0column75_06space_landscape.jpg)
![Young Tamil boys stand with other civilians behind a barbed-wire fence in the Menikfam Vanni refugee camp located near the town of Chettekulam in northern Sri Lanka April 29, 2009 [REUTERS/Stringer, courtesy alertnet.org]](/var/storage/images/emergencies/sri-lanka-2009-05-19/refugee-camp/1045604-1-eng-GB/refugee-camp_0column75_06space_landscape.jpg)

![Injured civilians in a make-shift hospital in a photograph released by the Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group 'Mercy Mission to Vanni' on April 20, 2009 [REUTERS/Mercy Mission to Vanni, courtesy www.alertnet.org]](/var/storage/images/emergencies/sri-lanka-2009-04-21/makeshift-hospital/1033228-1-eng-GB/makeshift-hospital_0column75_06space_landscape.jpg)

