Sri Lankan rebels say 1,000 killed in raid

SRI LANKA’S Tamil rebels said yesterday that 1,000 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.

Thousands of civilians also took to the sea, packing onto to small boats to flee the coastal strip of land that the military has backed the rebels into. Naval boats patrolled the waters, pulling those fleeing aboard their own vessels before transporting them to camps, where Tamils who have escaped the war are being held. On Monday, more than 2,000 people in about 100 boats were picked up.