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2,800 flee Sri Lanka war zone
Associated Press - April 19, 2009
Colombo (Sri Lanka) – More than 2,800 civilians have fled Sri Lanka's northern war zone, where they were cornered with the remaining Tamil Tiger insurgents, the military said on Sunday.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said that the civilians reported to the army after crossing the front line Saturday.
The United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people are trapped in the area, earlier marked as a 'no-fire zone' for civilian protection, measuring only 20-square kilometres.
The government last week suspended the offensive for two days to allow civilians to move out, but only a few hundred responded.
Authorities have since rejected widespread international calls for a long enough cease-fire to allow humanitarian workers to move the civilians to safety. The UN estimates some 4,500 noncombatants have been killed in the last three months amid fierce fighting as government forces closed in on the rebels, aiming to bring a final end to the 25-year civil war.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement Saturday that he was 'gravely concerned' at the continuing threat to the civilians.
"The British government maintains its calls for an immediate cease-fire in Sri Lanka and for civilians to be allowed to leave the conflict area," Mr Miliband said.
Human rights groups have accused the rebels facing a final assault from government troops of using the civilians as human shields and the government of indiscriminately shelling populated areas and disregarding the civilians' safety. Both sides deny the allegations.
The rebels have been fighting to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have faced decades of marginalisation by successive governments controlled by the ethnic Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.
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