Mon, Dec 26, 2005 - Page 1 News List

Tsunami survivors mark day of horror

ONE YEAR ON Many of those who struggled through the nightmare events of Dec. 26 last year returned to the scene to remember friends and relatives who perished

AP , BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA

Success has been mixed.

Almost 400,000 houses were reduced to rubble and more than 2 million people left homeless, the UN says.

The tsunami generated one of the most generous outpourings of foreign aid ever known, with US$13.6 billion pledged -- the bulk of which has already been secured, the UN says.

Rebuilding has started, but refugee camps remain full and frustration has grown that the pace of reconstruction is too slow. Aid agencies have urged patience, saying initial problems such as chaotic planning and lack of building materials are being overcome.

In Aceh, the tsunami resulted in a cease-fire between the government and guerillas that has ended a decades-old separatist conflict.

No such progress was made in Sri Lanka, where disputes over aid and an upsurge in violence have dashed hopes for an end to the longrunning conflict there.

In the latest violence, unidentified gunmen shot and killed a pro-rebel legislator as he attended midnight Mass at a church in the country's east, the military said.

Also see stories on World News and

The ghosts which are still haunting Indonesia's Banda Aceh

Paradise regained

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