U.S. troops to complete tsunami relief effort in 60 days

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — The U.S. military — the largest group helping tsunami survivors — will immediately start withdrawing troops from the relief efforts to feed and house more than 1 million refugees, the U.S. Pacific commander said yesterday.

Aid organizations responded to the announcement by Adm. Thomas Fargo by pledging to shoulder a greater share of the burden to aid tsunami survivors.

U.S. warships and helicopters "played a crucial role ... they're still playing that role," said Rob Holden, a member of a health-assessment team from the United Nations, the U.S. military and other groups. "What we're trying to do ... is civilianize the humanitarian operations because we're aware that we won't have military assets forever."

Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Fargo said the humanitarian missions in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other countries affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami have moved from the "immediate relief phase ... toward rehabilitation and reconstruction."

The admiral suggested that the withdrawal of the 15,000 American troops would be completed within 60 days, apparently meeting requests by Indonesian officials that foreign troops leave Aceh province on Sumatra island by the end of March.

About 1,000 Singaporean soldiers dispatched for relief efforts will begin pulling out today, a Singaporean military official said.

The withdrawal of foreign forces comes as the official death toll continues to climb. Almost four weeks after the disaster, reported deaths by government agencies range from nearly 158,000 to more than 221,000.

The U.S. Navy and Marines have delivered nearly 3.5 million pounds of aid supplies — about 150,000 pounds a day — since starting operations Jan. 1.

The U.N. World Food Program has distributed 5,600 tons of food to about 400,000 people in Aceh alone, said its Asia director, Tony Banbury. After visiting the obliterated coastal town of Meulaboh, Banbury said all tsunami survivors would be fed.

"We will get food aid to everyone who needs it," he said.