Lankan troops advance further, 80,000 Tamils flee war zone

T V Sriram

Colombo, Apr 22 (PTI) Making a final push to overrun the
last patch of LTTE-held territory, Sri Lankan forces Wednesday
pushed deeper, capturing six kilometres of the 18 km 'No Fire
Zone' as thousands of trapped Tamils civilians continued to
flee the northern war zone.

Over 80,000 civilians have so far crossed over to
government controlled 'safe zone' till this morning, a Defence
Ministry spokesman said. UN and other aid agencies estimates
are that there could be anywhere up to 200,000 people trapped
in the No Fire Zone.

Satellite imagery of the embattled zone released for the
first time showed that tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils
were squeezed into the last small strip of land controlled by
the Tamil Tigers.

The imagery released by the US State Department shows
about 25,000 tents packed into a coastal strip about 18 sq km,
promoting US and Red Cross officials to ask Colombo for a
pause to enable women and children escape the conflict zone.

At least 46 rebels were killed in fresh fighting as Sri
Lankan troops moved north of Ampalawanpokkani in hunt for the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) supremo V Prabhakaran
and his top aides with top government officials saying that
they were still holed up in the area.

A top LTTE leader had said Tuesday that Prabhakaran was
still in the battle zone and leading his men in conflict.

After capturing Putumathalan Tuesday, which triggered
off the civilian exodus, Sri Lankan troops today moved deeper
into the No Fire Zone, capturing Vishwamadukulam and Alankulam
and in search operation, came across 22 dead bodies of LTTE
cadres.

In Mullaitivu, two top LTTE cadres, identified as
Kaladen and Wijayan were killed in an operation by army
commandos in east Putumathalan.

Sri Lankan forces have in recent months ousted the
rebels from all their strongholds and boxed them into a tiny
stretch of land north of Mullaitivu which was previously
deemed as a 'No Fire Zone' to protect civilians.

"Our forces have captured one-third of the 18 km No Fire
Zone," Sri Lankan Defence Ministry spokesman Keheliya
Rambukwella said.

Meanwhile, based on the number of tents which came up on
the satellite imagery, experts estimate that there could have
been 125,000 people in the conflict zone before 80,000 fled
during the last two days.

Human rights groups say the LTTE are holding many people
in the enclave against their will and using them as human
shields. They have also accused the government forces of using
indiscriminate shelling in the No Fire Zone.

The pro-LTTE Tamilnet Tuesday alleged that more than
1,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured in firing
by the Lankan troops in the No Fire Zone. PTI TVS
RAI
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