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Sri Lanka to rebels: Let civilians flee war zone
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Sri Lanka to rebels: Let civilians flee war zone
By RAVI NESSMAN,Associated Press Writer AP - 2 hours 2 minutes ago
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's president urged Tamil Tiger rebels to allow civilians to flee the northern war zone for safety, but his government ruled out a cease-fire Friday despite reports of heavy casualties among noncombatants.
In an appeal published Friday on a government Web site, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the rebels _ formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam _ were endangering the civilians' lives by refusing to let them flee.
"I urge the LTTE, within the next 48 hours, to allow free movement of civilians to ensure their safety and security. For all those civilians, I assure a safe passage to a secure environment," he said.
The Red Cross has said 250,000 civilians are trapped in the northern war zone, but Human Rights and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said the government estimates that there are no more than 120,000 in the area.
Human rights groups have accused the rebels of holding the civilians hostage _ a charge they deny _ and the military of launching heavy attacks in civilian-filled areas, including a government-declared "safe zone."
But Rajapaksa alleged the Tigers are putting their heavy artillery inside the safe zone and using it as a "launching pad" for attacks on government troops.
Despite the outcry of concern for civilians, Samarasinghe told reporters there would be no cease-fire in the battle to retake the last remaining territory from the rebels.
The Tigers, who have been fighting since 1983 to set up a homeland for the minority Tamils in the north and east, were ousted from all major towns after heavy battles in recent months. They are now cornered in a 115-square-mile (300-square kilometer) area of jungle and villages in the Tamil-dominated north.
"We are determined not to have a cease-fire, and we are determined to eradicate terrorism in Sri Lanka," Samarasinghe said.
Samarasinghe also denied reports that more than 300 civilians have been killed in the recent fighting near Mullaittivu, the last town from where the rebels were routed on Sunday.
He said civilians are being forcibly recruited by the Tigers, given two or three days of training and put on the front line as cannon fodder.
"When the civilians, when they carry a weapon, they are part and parcel of a terrorist organization," Samarasinghe said. "And when they fire, we fire back."
The Red Cross said there was still fighting in the north Friday, but it welcomed Rajapaksa's announcement that the government would allow civilians safe passage.
"As far as we are concerned, we will try to seize the opportunity to evacuate more people, especially the wounded with their families," said Sarasi Wijeratne, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Dr. Thurairajah Varatharajah, the top health official in the war zone, said his hospital in the rebel-held town of Puthukkudiyiruppu was overflowing with patients with shell blast injuries. Many of them had no beds and were forced to stay in the hallway, he said.
The rebels could not be reached for comment because nearly all communication to the north has been severed. Independent accounts of the fighting are not available because most journalists are barred from the war zone.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said top United Nations' officials were "seriously alarmed" over the fate of civilians in the north.
"It seems there may have been very grave breaches of human rights by both sides in the conflict, and it is imperative that we find out more about what exactly has been going on," she said.
She also expressed concern over the government's ban on aid workers and reporters in the north. Only the Red Cross has been allowed to work in the war zone.
Reporters Without Borders also criticized the government for not allowing journalists to enter the conflict zone, calling the move "deplorable." But military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said safety concerns made it impossible for media to operate there.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war, which grew out of complaints by Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalization at the hands of successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority.
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