Over 16,600 civilians, including a large number of children and women, have fled the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka in the last eight days, as Colombo kept up its offensive in the rebel-held areas while asking the LTTE to surrender unconditionally.
Over 16,600 civilians, including a large number of children and women, have fled the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka in the last eight days, as Colombo kept up its offensive in the rebel-held areas while asking the LTTE to surrender unconditionally."Over 16,600 civilians have moved from Wanni region into relief camps in Jaffna, Vavuniya and other areas between February 1 and 8," army spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said. Last month, 3,400 people had come to government-controlled areas.
It is expected that at least 80,000 more people will move to government-controlled areas in the next few weeks, he said.
President Mahinda Rajapakse last night warned the rebels, who are now limited to a narrow strip of land, to surrender or get killed.
"They must let civilians go and then unconditionally give themselves up... I must warn them we will not halt our operations against terrorism until we reach our final objective," he said.
Speaking about the sudden increase in the number of civilians fleeing rebel-held areas in Wanni, a senior defence official said it is a result of a "well-planned rescue mission launched by the security forces".
"Army manoeuvres have been planned and executed with great care in order to increase the opportunity of the civilians to get out," the official said.
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