3,000 civilians flee Sri Lanka war zone

COLOMBO (AFP) Nearly 3,000 civilians escaped from Sri Lanka's war zone and sought shelter with security forces, the defence ministry said Sunday as troops stepped up an offensive against cornered Tiger rebels.

The non-combatants escaped Saturday evening from the remaining area under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the ministry said in a statement.

"The civilians started arriving in large groups since (Saturday) afternoon using the safe routes opened for them by troops," the ministry said.

The influx into government-held territory was in contrast to the trickle of civilians that came through when the military observed a unilateral two-day truce earlier in the week, the ministry noted.

Security forces kept up their offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels trapped in a government-declared "no-fire zone," ignoring international appeals for a ceasefire.

At least 17 rebels were killed and another 22 wounded in fighting Saturday, the government said.

"Battlefield reports indicated that troops have encountered stiff resistance from the terrorists," it said.

President Mahinda Rajapakse told party workers at his tightly guarded residence in Colombo Saturday that the decimated Tamil Tigers faced a stark choice.

"They have only three alternatives. Either they have to surrender to our armed forces, eat the cyanide capsule (worn round their necks) and commit suicide, or plunge into the sea," he said.

Rajapakse said the international community should stop putting pressure on him for another ceasefire and instead ask Tiger rebels to free civilians in the conflict zone.

The United Nations says up to 100,000 civilians are trapped in the area in "dire humanitarian conditions."

Officials said the government had made it clear to a top UN envoy that Sri Lanka was not willing to extend its unilateral ceasefire.

The government has accused the Tigers of holding civilians as a human shield, a charge denied by the guerrillas, who are trying to prevent a total defeat after fighting for 37 years for a separate state.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon last week sent his chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, for talks with Sri Lankan leaders to extend the ceasefire but was rebuffed, officials said.

Source : AFP

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[ABTHARAN]

Tamil students enjoy their rights all over the country, including the Peradeniya University in the heartland of the Sinhala Buddhists. Even in Colombo , a Sinhala student is not admitted to any Tamil school, while all the Sinhala schools accept Tamil students.

[ABTHARAN]

A closer look at the transformation of Colombo and its suburbs will make any pea-brain understand who is having a better life and who is being pushed aside from the capital city. From Paskaralingam to Kadirgamar to Muralitharan, there are millions of Tamils who have flourished in this country. It is the Sinhala students who cannot attend the Jaffna University or the Eastern University

[LtteBuster]

Yes We Do It all.

For the distruction you did for the country !

[cultakawtkk]

dropping bombs on innocent tamils mainly cluster bombs and the use of poisonous gas, denying icrc distribution of food to innocent tamils, in the so called welfare camps tamils girls go missing daily, tamil forced to walk naked across the camps, and just to rape dem u accuse them of being tamil tigers and take dem where dere never seen again. army is using tamil civilians as shields and blame it on the tigers..ur lucky the indian army is helping u or u would have been clawed along time ago

[KolonelKARUNA]

Well Done lttp..Tamils will never forgive you for assiting the genocide of tamils by murderko-run!!

[ABTHARAN]

Claim: Tamils are discriminated in Sri Lanka A person from the majority Sinhalese cannot buy a piece of land in the North , but the Tamils can buy land anywhere in the country. Statistically speaking, Tamils are occupying more than their share in universities, in the civil service, the government and even in the private sector. From Sea Street to 4th Cross Street , there are certain trades and industries that "belong" to the Tamils, and no Sinhala or Muslim merchant can penetrate that.

[ABTHARAN]

Your claim: Sri Lanka is the only place for Tamil Ealam

Fact: Sri Lanka is the ONLY place in the world for the Sinhala race and the Veddahs. Whether you like it or not, they have the right to this land before anyone else. Tamils, on the other hand, have the historical right to Tamil Nadu and that is where the only Ealam Dreamland should be. Or you may consider Singapore , alaysia , Canada , Germany , England or Australia they have been pampering you well, haven't they?