Tamil say 1 000 civilians die in government raid

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebels said yesterday that 1000 civilians died in a government raid on their territory that the military says freed thousands of noncombatants from the war zone. The military denied the accusation.

Government forces say they rescued thousands of civilians on Monday after they broke through a barrier built by the rebels to protect their territory. By yesterday evening, the military said 52 000 had escaped.
But as troops have pushed the rebels into an ever-shrinking sliver of territory, both sides have accused the other of endangering civilians.
Rights groups say the rebels are holding many against their will to use as human shields. But those groups have also accused the government of indiscriminate shelling in the tightly packed region in its bid to end the 25-year war. Both sides deny the allegations against them.
It is not possible to obtain independent accounts of the situation because the war zone is restricted to journalists.
The UN estimated that more than 4 500 civilians have been killed in the past three months, and several humanitarian groups warned yesterday that any government efforts to launch an assault into the densely populated rebel area would result in a dramatic increase in casualties.
The rebels said in an e-mailed statement that more than 1 000 civilians died in the government’s raid Monday. It said nearly 2 300 were wounded.
‘And today a situation of bloodbath is prevailing,’ the statement said.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara denied the allegation, adding that only 17 civilians were killed on Monday and they died in rebels suicide bombing.
‘Our troops are rescuing the trapped civilians. It’s the LTTE (rebels) which is preventing civilians from fleeing,’ Nanayakkara said.
A total of 39 081 civilians fled the war zone on Monday, the largest exodus in a single day according to Nanayakkara. At least 13 000 people crossed over yesterday, he said, but the stream was continuing.
Encouraged by the exodus, the government on Monday asked the rebels to surrender within 24 hours, warning of a final assault if they failed. The ultimatum expired at noon yesterday without a response from the rebels.
The international Red Cross warned that a final offensive ‘could lead to a dramatic increase in the number of civilian casualties.’
The UN Children’s Fund said it fears for the safety of children still trapped in the war zone if fighting continues and the rebels refuse to allow people to leave.
‘With this latest surge in fighting, our greatest fear is that the worst is yet to come,’ said Daniel Toole, the agency’s South Asia director.
Human Rights Watch, which said between 50 000 and 100 000 civilians remained stranded, warned more will die if the government launches a major attack.
The rebels have fought since 1983 for an independent state for Sri Lanka’s ethnic minority Tamils. More than 70 000 people have been killed in the years of violence.
– Nampa-AP