The Ceylon News

Sri Lankan troops killed at least 45 Tamil Tiger rebels in fierce fighting in the army's final push into the last rebel-held area, the military said on Friday.

The battle to end the quarter-century war is centred around 21 square km (8 sq miles) of the Indian Ocean island's northeastern coast, where the army has encircled the Tigers and tens of thousands of civilians trapped there.

"Troops had recovered 45 bodies of LTTE terrorists who were killed from today's fighting," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, adding troops also recovered rebel arms and ammunition.

Nanayakkara said that according to intelligence sources the leader and deputy leader of the rebels' elite Charles Anthony Brigade, named after the son and heir apparent to Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, were killed in separate battles on March 31 and April 1.

The military also said they had recovered 31 bodies of LTTE terrorists and 50 weapons on Thursday.

There was no independent confirmation available of the military claims, and the Tigers could not be reached for comment.

The Tigers on Tuesday accused the international community and United Nations of maintaining a double standard by saying the rebels should comply with humanitarian law, while ignoring what the Tigers say are attacks on civilians by the Sri Lankan military.

The United Nations, rights groups and other nations have said the Tigers are holding people prisoner as human shields, and shooting those who try to leave. They also have said the government has shelled areas packed with civilians.

Both sides deny the allegations against them.

The United Nations, United States and Britain have all urged both sides to observe a "humanitarian pause" to let people trapped in the war zone escape.

The Tigers, who are on U.S., EU, Indian and Canadian terrorism lists, on Tuesday accused the international community of not doing enough to push a ceasefire.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday again rejected the call as a Tiger ruse to buy time to re-arm, and said the war would go on until the Tigers surrendered or were destroyed.

The Tigers have been waging a civil war since 1983 to create a separate nation for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority, which complains of mistreatment at the hands of successive governments led by the Sinhalese majority since independence from Britain in 1948. (Editing by Jerry Norton)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called on leaders of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to allow trapped civilians to leave conflict area in northern Sri Lanka of their own free will.

"The secretary-general calls upon the LTTE leadership to allow civilians to leave the conflict area of their own free will," a statement issued here by Ban's spokesperson said. "The severe restrictions of the LTTE on their freedom of movement violate international law."

"The secretary-general also deplores the forced recruitment of civilians, particularly children," the statement said.

Meanwhile, "the secretary-general is deeply distressed by continuing reports from the Vanni region of Sri Lanka that civilians are at extreme risk, with heavy casualties," and the LTTE rebels "are keeping civilians in a very small area of active conflict against their will," the statement said.

"While some have been able to leave or escape, reliable reports indicate that the LTTE have prevented others from leaving, including by firing at them," the statement said.

"At the same time, the secretary-general again reminds the government of Sri Lanka of its responsibility to protect civilians, and to avoid the use of heavy weapons in areas where there are civilians, as promised," the statement said.

"The government should receive and treat displaced persons in accordance with international law, and work closely with the United Nations in meeting the protection and physical needs of displaced persons," the statement said.

The LTTE is accused of recruiting child soldiers and crushing dissent in its territory, reports said. It seeks a separate state for minority Tamils in the north and east of the country. It alleges mistreatment at the hands of ethnic Sinhalese, who make up75 percent of a population of 20 million.

The rebel fighters had been maintaining stiff resistance in order to prevent government troops from taking a key village, but the rebel efforts failed and the government army captured the village at the end of heavy fighting, which left more than 44 rebels killed.