Geneva - The United Nations gave 10 million dollars from its emergency relief fund for Sri Lanka, noting Tuesday that humanitarian needs in the Asian country remain underfunded. With the new donation, 37 per cent of the 155 million dollars needed for Sri Lanka this year were covered. About one third of the funds came from the emergency fund .

UN officials said that they had at best "sporadic access" for their humanitarian missions to the coastal enclave in Sri Lanka where tens of thousands of civilians remained trapped in dire conditions.

The lack of access to the zone was also making planning for the long term difficult, an official said, noting that it was almost impossible to know the exact conditions there.

While the UN had contingency plans, to properly plan for the aftermath of the ongoing fighting between the government and the Tamil Tiger levels it would need to get its assessment teams into the area.(dpa)