Sri Lanka's civilian death toll climbs

Military, Tamil Tigers blame each other

Both sides in Sri Lanka's civil war accused each other of killing civilians this weekend, as a hospital reported that hundreds had died during an artillery barrage.

A hospital official said at least 378 had died and 1,122 were wounded in fighting that began on Saturday and continued yesterday. The Tamil Tigers rebels blamed the Sri Lankan armed forces.

But the army dismissed the allegations and accused the rebels of firing mortars at civilians "to tarnish the image of the security forces in the eyes of public, nationally and internationally."

Neither account could be verified because journalists are not allowed close to the fighting, which is taking place on a five-kilometre stretch of coast 280 kilo-metres northeast of the capital Colombo.

The military said this morning it had intercepted radio conversations showing the rebels had fired at the civilians to prevent them from fleeing.

A rebel named Senduran was quoted as saying: "I have captured 20 persons trying to escape, more people are coming, I cannot control them." Another rebel named Priyalan responded: "Try to stop as much as you can till I send reinforcement."

Later, rebel Thirumalai Master asked: "How did so many civilians got injured?" Senduran replied: "Many people came, we couldn't control and we had to fire them."

More than 1,500 civilians escaped rebel-held territory yesterday by land and sea.

A news crew from London's Channel-4 was expelled yesterday after reporting allegations about substandard conditions at camps set up to house those displaced by the war.

The military appeared to be making a final push against the rebels, who have fought a three-decade war for Tamil independence but are now cornered and mingling among thousands of civilians.

Troops advanced into rebel territory on the weekend and dozens of rebels were reported killed in clashes on land and at sea.

Among the dead was the second-in-command of the Sea Tigers, the rebel naval wing, the military said.

Meanwhile, the army said another 700 civilians had crossed into government territory, some with wounds caused by rebel gunfire. They were taken by helicopter to a military hospital, the army said.

Tamil politician Veerasingham Anandasangaree said a ceasefire was needed so the United Nations could relocate civilians from areas close to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

"Firing should stop," Mr. Anandasangaree, a former MP and the leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front party, said in an interview. "The government has no business to kill people like this."

He said he believed the latest casualty figures because he had heard them directly from a doctor at the hospital that received the dead and injured.

"These are 100 per cent true," he said.

"We can't trust the LTTE's version, but this is from the horse's mouth."

Human Rights Watch reported on Friday that indiscriminate artillery and air attacks by Sri Lankan forces had repeatedly struck hospitals in the north, and said the commanders responsible could be prosecuted for war crimes.

The New York-based nongovernmental organization, which said it has evidence of at least 30 attacks on hospitals in the combat area since December, 2008, also accused the rebels of using civilians as human shields.

(National Post)

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