'No pause' in Sri Lanka fighting

Troops have driven the rebels into a tiny coastal area

The Sri Lankan army has said there will be no more breaks in fighting against the Tamil Tigers in the north of the country, as it closes in on the rebels.

Spokesman Brig Shavendra Silva said the only way civilians could leave the area was if the army rescued them, as the rebels would not let any more out.

Rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was still in the conflict zone, he added.

The UN has been calling on both sides to pause hostilities so aid can be sent in and people evacuated.

It is sending an aid team to the area, where it says 50,000 are trapped.

The BBC's Charles Haviland, who travelled through areas close to the frontline and saw refugees who had recently fled from the fighting, says many looked seriously ill and most very weak.

The government says 100,000 people have fled since Monday's military push. An estimated 60,000 people had already fled in recent months.

See a map of the region

A UN document being circulated around diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka estimates that nearly 6,500 civilians have died and 14,000 have been injured.

The BBC's Charles Haviland, in Puthukkudiyiruppu near the front line A jolting ride in armoured vehicles took us across the swathe of north-east Sri Lanka which until a couple of months ago was held by the rebels. Buildings are badly damaged and the land is devoid of people. They've all been taken to areas the government calls welfare villages. Then suddenly, in coconut groves, we saw a long line of people who've freshly fled from the conflict zone. Many looked seriously ill, and most very weak. Surrounded by soldiers, people told us briefly that they'd been hungry or thirsty, or were happy to be out, or that the Tamil Tigers had prevented them from leaving. We and they were then moved on.

Meanwhile senior Indian officials have met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo, following Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's call to end the killing of civilians.

No details of the meeting have been released, but Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and National Security Adviser M K Narayanan were expected to stress the severity of the humanitarian crisis.

Brig Silva said intelligence reports indicated that Velupillai Prabhakaran and other rebel leaders were still in the conflict zone and appeared to be preparing to make a last stand.

He has not been seen for 18 months, and there was speculation that he was killed or fled the island.

The army spokesman added that the Tamil Tigers were dressing in civilian clothing to blend in, and firing into the zone using heavy weaponry so people would think the army was firing at them.

But our correspondent says there is no way of verifying these reports.

On Thursday, the representative of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Colombo, Amin Awad, called on the Sri Lankan government to allow pauses in the fighting so the necessary work could be completed.

"We are calling on the government to restrain itself and have the moral upper ground by allowing the humanitarian aid in, and we're asking the LTTE [Tamil Tigers] to open the gates of hell and allow these people out into safety," he said.

Hours earlier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the immediate despatch of the humanitarian team.

Thousands of people are caught with the Tamil Tigers in a 12 sq km (5 sq m) area in the north of the country as the military closes in.

The UN's humanitarian coordinator, Neil Buhne, said tens of thousands of people were living in camps in the northern town of Vavuniya.

news.bbc.co.uk / Friday, 24 April 2009 12:33 UK