Colombo  - UN Humanitar

Colombo - UN humanitarian chief John Holmes was scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka Saturday as civilians remained the last rebel-held areas in the north-east, while thousands of others have fled to government-controlled areas, officials said. Holmes will meet with government and UN officials in Colombo where he is expected to discuss providing assistance to refugees, but has not sought permission to visit the conflict zone where fighting is in progress, UN spokesman in Colombo Gordon Wise said.

New York  - The 13 relief organizations expelled by the Sudanese government last week provided 50 per cent of humanitarian assistance to civilians in need in Sudan's Darfur region, the top UN humanitarian coordinator said Monday.

John Holmes, the UN undersecretary general for emergency relief coordinator, said at UN headquarters in New York that neither Khartoum nor the UN or other non-governmental organizations can sufficiently provide assistance alone.

New York  - The Sri Lankan government has been urged to hold back its final military battle in areas where tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped, the United Nations' chief humanitarian emergency coordinator said Friday.

The UN's John Holmes recently visited the troubled island nation to gain first-hand information of the humanitarian situation in refugee camps.