Hundreds who fled heavy fighting in Sri Lanka’s war zone waited to be evacuated from a tiny coastal village today as the UN reported that nearly 6,500 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed in the last three months.

SRI LANKA pleaded for international help yesterday after Doctors Without Borders warned that civilian casualties are rising rapidly in the country’s war zone despite the exodus of more than 100,000 people.

TWO Tamil Tiger officials surrendered to the Sri Lankan army yesterday, and refugees joined a stream of more than 80,000 people the government says have fled a war zone that appeared to shrink by the hour.