Sri Lankan govt urges to flee war zone area

Colombo: In Sri Lanka, the government has urged thousands of civilians trapped in its war zone to flee the area. It has said it would open two safe passages for civilians.

A large number of civilians are trapped along with the Tamil Tiger rebels as the government steps up its offensive against the LTTE.

Almost 2,000 civilians are believed to have been killed in recent weeks, and almost two lakh civilians are estimated to be stuck in an area of less than 50 square kilometres.

International officials have issued appeals to the military and the rebels to halt their battle temporarily to allow the civilians to escape.

But the government has refused, saying it was on the verge of crushing the LTTE and ending the quarter-century civil war.