"Heavy fighting is taking place near the medical assembly point at Mullavaikkal, which puts the lives of patients, medical workers and ICRC staff at great risk," said Jacques de Maio, the ICRC head of operations for South Asia, in Geneva. "This hampers medical evacuations of wounded civilians and their families."

For seven days prior to this operation, security constraints had prevented the ICRC from rescuing dozens of patients in need of urgent medical treatment.

"Not all the wounded could be evacuated today, and it is of the utmost importance that more evacuations take place over the coming days," said Mr de Maio. "The food and medical supplies that have been delivered remain insufficient to cover the basic needs of the people there."

Since 10 February, the ICRC has evacuated more than 13,000 people from the conflict area by boat to Trincomalee and Pulmoddai, which are in government-controlled areas. Since mid-February, the ICRC has also arranged for the delivery of over 2,300 metric tonnes of food to the area.