Civilians flee war zone as government rejects UN pressure rebel statement (Roundup)

Colombo - More than 5,000 civilians fled Tamil rebel-held areas in north-eastern Sri Lanka Thursday after six days of heavy fighting had held up their flight, a United Nations spokesman said, while the rebels claimed more than 1,700 people were killed over the past two days. At least 5,000 civilians escaped the combat zone by crossing a lagoon, and more people were fleeing from the narrow coastal strip of land held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Mullaitivu district, 395 kilometres north-east of Colombo, Gordon Wiess said. He said that the civilians were now using the western flank bordering the lagoon to escape into military-controlled areas. Meanwhile a military spokesman said that troops were closing upon the beach front as they stepped up operations to advance into the rebel areas. The LTTE have been pushed back into an area of 6 square kilometres, which also includes a government-designated 'safety zone' for civilians. On Wednesday, troops entered the safety zone for what the government said was an operation to rescue about 20,000 civilians trapped there, but UN agencies estimated that more than 50,000 civilians are trapped in the area. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government rejected UN calls to halt its offensive against the Tamil Tigers, saying it was not going to 'succumb' to international pressure. The United Nations Security Council had called for an end to the fighting, urging the government to ensure the safety of civilians and condemned the LTTE for its 'acts of terrorism ... and its continued use of civilians as human shields.' More than 430 civilians were reported killed in shelling since Sunday with both the military and the rebels accusing each other of being responsible for the deaths. The Tamil rebels said in a statement that local aid workers in the northern region estimated 1,700 civilians have been killed and over 3,000 injured in the last 48 hours due to the persistent use of heavy artillery and mortars by the Sri Lankan armed forces. The military has denied the allegations and there has been no independent confirmation about the rebel claims. Concerns are mounting that the trapped are running out of food and medicines. A Red Cross ship trying to unload 30 metric tons of food and evacuate the injured has failed to reach the area because of the heavy fighting. The military said it is in the final phase of ending a military operation aimed at crushing the LTTE, which has been fighting for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils for 25 years. Since January, more than 170,000 civilians have fled rebel-controlled areas as the military offensive shrank the ground held by the LTTE.