Thousands of Tamil civilians flee Sri Lankan fighting

About 3,000 Tamil civilians braved flooded, mine-laden jungle paths to flee from separatist fighting into government-held areas in eastern Sri Lanka today, officials and witnesses said.

“We have set up camps and are trying to provide all facilities to these people who are escaping from the clutches of the terrorists,” military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said, referring to Tamil Tiger separatist rebels.

Refugees who managed to flee the area on Friday by sea told The Associated Press that they were held forcibly by the rebels but managed to sneak out while the guerrillas were distracted during artillery and gunfire exchanges with government troops.

The government accuses the rebels of holding the civilians as human shields. On Friday, the United Nations called on the rebels to let tens of thousands of Tamil civilians flee the area.

The government said today a total of 17 camps have been set up and some schools have been turned into refugee centres.

There was no immediate comment from the rebels and calls by The Associated Press to their headquarters in Kilinochchi remained unanswered.

The refugees were fleeing the rebel-held village of Vaharai in eastern Batticaloa district, where there has been heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels over the last few weeks.

The UN call to let civilians flee came after boats carrying fleeing ethnic Tamil civilians capsized on Friday in the eastern sea, killing at least eight people, according to the Sri Lankan military. The pro-rebel website TamilNet said as many as 18 were feared killed. The rebels claim the government has sealed the only road out of the area.

Some of the refugees did use the road on Saturday, but many did not take the route, saying they feared shelling.

Water-logged jungle paths were making the civilians escape difficult. A refugee said he had to abandon his belongings to wade through waist-deep water.

The military said 2,790 civilians fled from rebel-held areas on Saturday.

“The total number of escapees, who were dismayed with the threats and harassment of the Tiger terrorists, is now 13,910 since November 1,” the Media Centre for National Security said.

The UN said on Thursday that the 35,000 people trapped in Vaharai by the fighting were suffering under indiscriminate shelling.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been fighting the government since 1983, demanding a self-ruled homeland for Sri Lanka’s 3.1 million minority Tamils, citing decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese-dominated state.

A Norwegian-brokered cease-fire officially still holds but more than 3,500 fighters and civilians have been killed in renewed fighting this year.

More than 65,000 people died in the conflict before the cease-fire.