Sri Lankan government urges civilians to flee

SRI LANKA’S government dropped leaflets across the northern war zone yesterday urging civilians to flee the fighting amid accusations the military pounded the area with artillery shells that killed at least 10 civilians.

Government forces have cornered the Tamil Tiger rebels in a 5km-long strip along the north-east coast and appear poised to end the quarter-century civil war.

However, international pressure has grown for a ceasefire to protect tens of thousands of ethnic Tamil civilians trapped in the area.