Refugee housing confiscated

ROME -- The Sri Lankan navy has confiscated permanent housing that a Jesuit aid agency had built for refugees affected by the country's civil war.

Families who had been living in 50 houses on the country's island of Mannar were forcibly removed recently "and the land has been taken over" by government forces, said Paul Newman, South Asia advocacy officer for Jesuit Refugee Service.

"All the houses have been completely vandalized by the [Sri Lankan] navy" and stripped of everything from the sheets on people's beds to the electric wiring, he said March 5. Newman was in Rome for meetings.

Government forces took over the land, saying the houses were too close to the sea, making them vulnerable to attack by rebels and crossfire in the event of a battle between rebels and troops based on the island, he said.

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