Tearfund and other relief and development agencies are warning that the condition of Sri Lankans living in refugee camps will remain a major challenge for months to come.

The Anglican Bishop of Kurunagala in Sri Lanka, the Rt Revd Kumara lllangasinghe, has written to Anglican churches throughout the world to appeal for crisis aid for refugee casualties following the bloody end to the war there.

The Sri Lankan government says that more than 6,200 security personnel were killed and almost 30,000 wounded in the final three years of the war with the Tamil Tigers. Independent analysts say many thousands of Tamils have died as well.

Sri Lankan church leaders say the end of the country's 26-year civil war announced by the government is a signal to address grievances and to ensure citizens from all ethnic and religious groups can feel part of their nation.

With the war between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers officially ending in a bloody victory for the authorities, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding, and human rights groups are calling for proper protection of civilians and ex-combatants.

The UK-based international churches' development agency Christian Aid has welcomed the end of the fighting in Sri Lanka, but warns that humanitarian crisis created by the conflict is far from over and that refugee camps are struggling to cope.

The Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam must immediately heed demands by the United Nations Security Council and allow tens of thousands of civilians to leave the 'No Fire Zone', Amnesty International says.

Amid continued calls for restraint from the US, the UN, governments across the world, NGOs and faith groups, the slaughter in Sri Lanka is continuing, with a further 50 people killed yesterday in a devastating attack on a hospital.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has joined international NGOs and religious groups in expressing horror at the killing of many hundreds of civilians in so-called 'no fire zones' in embattled Sri Lanka over the weekend.

Churches in Sri Lanka are helping desperate families looking for loved ones missing in the civil war that is raging in the country. Government troops cornering Tamil militants have forced around 200,000 people into refugee camps.