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At least 800 civilians cross to safety in Sri Lanka
Thu Feb 5, 2009 8:24am EST
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By Ranga Sirilal
COLOMBO (Reuters) - At least 800 civilians caught in raging fighting escaped Sri Lanka's war zone on Thursday, the military said, and the government renewed a call for Tamil Tiger rebels to surrender unconditionally or face destruction.
Battles flared around a shrinking wedge of jungle in the Indian Ocean island's northeast, that the military now measures at about 200 sq km (77 sq miles) and in which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are trapped.
Tens of thousands of civilians are also being held there by the Tigers, under grave threat of harm from the fighting and a lack of food and medicines, aid agencies say.
"At least 800 civilians have come out today," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Troops also seized a base on the eastern front at Vishvamadu, and the final redoubt of the separatist guerrillas' naval wing at Chalai on the northeast coast, Nanayakkara said.
Troops killed 15 rebels including three senior guerrillas, against the loss of three soldiers in the latter fight, he said.
The LTTE had no immediate comment.
The pro-rebel website www.TamilNet.com said on Thursday seven people were killed and dozens wounded in shelling at a hospital. The military denies firing into civilian areas.
The United Nations has said at least 52 people were killed and 80 wounded by shelling on Wednesday. Aid agencies say 250,000 people are trapped in Tiger-held areas, but the government says the number is about half that.
The plight of civilians has prompted a growing list of countries, including the United States, the European Union, Japan, Norway and Australia, to raise calls for both sides to negotiate a brief end to hostilities to let the people out.
NO CEASEFIRE
The government has said it will allow safe passage, but has ruled out any ceasefire.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake told parliament there had been reports some Tiger fighters were planning to surrender.
"We say it is a wise decision. We will welcome anybody who is giving up arms and entering into the democratic mainstream. We have been saying that from the beginning," Wickremanayake said.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's last gave an offer of amnesty in exchange for total surrender in December and it had always excluded the LTTE's leadership, including founder and leader Vellupillai Prahakaran, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Continued...
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