Rebels urged to let civilians flee war zone in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s president today urged the Tamil Tiger rebels to allow the estimated 250,000 civilians trapped in the northern war zone to flee to safety following reports of heavy casualties among non-combatants stuck in the shrinking territory.

Human rights groups have accused the rebels of holding the civilians hostage and accused the military of launching heavy attacks in areas filled with civilians, including a government-declared “safe zone” in the north.

A senior UN official said both sides appeared to have committed “grave breaches of human rights”. The rebels and the military deny the charges.

In the appeal published on a government website, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the rebels’ refusal to let non-combatants leave was endangering their lives.

He accused the rebels – known formally as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - of putting their heavy artillery inside the “safe zone” and using it as a “launching pad” for attacks on government troops.

“I urge the LTTE, within the next 48 hours to allow free movement of civilians to ensure their safety and security. For all those civilians, I assure a safe passage to a secure environment,” he said.

The military said the president’s statement did not amount to a unilateral 48-hour truce and said the offensive was proceeding today.

“There’s no cease-fire,” military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The Red Cross said there was still fighting in the north today, but it welcomed Rajapaksa’s announcement that the government would allow civilians safe passage.

“As far as we are concerned, we will try to seize the opportunity to evacuate more people, especially the wounded with their families,” said Sarasi Wijeratne, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Dr Thurairajah Varatharajah, the top health official in the war zone, said his hospital in the rebel-held town of Puthukkudiyiruppu was overflowing with patients with shell blast injuries. Many of them had no beds and were forced to stay in the hallway, he said.

The rebels could not be reached for comment since nearly all communication to the north has been severed. Independent accounts of the fighting are not available because most journalists are barred from the war zone.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said top UN officials were “seriously alarmed” over the fate of civilians in the north.

“It seems there may have been very grave breaches of human rights by both sides in the conflict, and it is imperative that we find out more about what exactly has been going on,” she said.

Reporters Without Borders also criticised the government for not allowing journalists to enter the war zone, calling the move “deplorable,” especially in light of reports of civilian casualties. But Nanayakkara, the military spokesman, said safety concerns made it impossible for media to operate in the conflict area.

The rebels, who have been fighting for a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in northern Sri Lanka since 1983, were ousted from all major towns after heavy battles in recent months and are now cornered in a 115-square mile area of jungle and villages in the North East.

The Red Cross estimates 250,000 civilians are trapped in the shrinking territory still under rebel control.

Nanayakkara has said no civilians have been killed, but that some people who were forced by the rebels to build fortifications might have been wounded in crossfire.

The Tamil Tigers want to create a separate state for minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalisation at the hands of governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war.