Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka expanded a safe zone for civilians fleeing fighting in the north as the army captured Tamil Tiger defense lines in its drive to seize the last main rebel base and end the country’s 26-year civil war.
Civilians are “making constant efforts to flee” from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to areas in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts captured by the army in the past three weeks, the Defense Ministry said on its Web site.
Soldiers overran LTTE defense lines at Udayarkattukulam, west of Mullaitivu, after “hours of fierce fighting,” the ministry said in a statement late yesterday. The LTTE hasn’t commented on the report.
The Tamil Tigers have been driven to the northeastern region after suffering the biggest defeats in their fight for a separate homeland in the north and east of the island nation. Clashes in the past three weeks have displaced tens of thousands of civilians inside the conflict zones, the International Committee of the Red Cross said this week.
The military estimates the LTTE has only about 1,000 fighters left after its political headquarters at Kilinochchi was captured Jan. 2. Some defense analysts say the number is higher and the Tamil Tigers will now undertake guerrilla warfare in the jungle terrain in the north.
Displaced People
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government said two days ago it is taking steps to deal with the increasing numbers of displaced people in Wanni and Mullaitivu districts. Three centers have been set up to house about 30,000 people, it said in a statement.
The United Nations yesterday called on the government to ensure the safety of civilians and appealed to the LTTE to allow children and families to leave conflict zones and to release child soldiers.
“Any camp set up for IDPs has to meet international standards,” Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN special representative for children in armed conflict, said in a statement. “The government of Sri Lanka should work with international and local humanitarian actors to ensure their safety and security.”
As many as 200,000 civilians are trapped in the conflict zone, Dharmalingham Sidharthan, leader of the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam, said earlier this week in a telephone interview from the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.
People are fleeing from indiscriminate shelling by the army, the TamilNet news agency in the north reported. There are no international rights groups in the region to protect civilians who are facing “a slow genocide,” it said, citing the Vanni People’s Welfare Organization.
LTTE Leader
Sri Lanka’s military is targeting the jungle bases of LTTE commanders, including its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
“I am not sure whether he is in Sri Lanka,” Army Chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said earlier this week in Colombo, according to Indian state-run broadcaster Doordarshan. “There are ways to escape.”
Police in Malaysia are on a nationwide alert after reports that Prabhakaran may have fled to the country, the New Straits Times newspaper reported on its Web site today.
Intelligence officials are investigating whether Prabhakaran is already in the country and police will monitor all entry points to ensure the rebel leader doesn’t enter Malaysia, Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan told the newspaper.
A Tamil Tiger plane was forced to turn back as it tried to fly out to sea near the port of Mullaitivu yesterday, Reuters cited an unidentified military official as saying.
The navy said earlier this week it attacked rebel boats trying to leave the coast near Mullaitivu.
Tamils made up 11.9 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 20 million in 2001 and the Sinhalese almost 74 percent, according to a census that year. The LTTE says Tamils are discriminated against by the Sinhalese.
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