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Fighting intensifies in Sri Lanka

112,000 flee as government vows to crush rebels

By Jason Motlagh | Saturday, August 23, 2008

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | Fierce fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in northern Sri Lanka, as government troops advance deeper into the Tamil rebels' last stronghold in an aggressive bid to crush them by the end of the year.

More than 112,000 ethnic Tamils have fled from their homes over the past two months amid daily gunbattles, shelling and air attacks, aid agencies say.

The United Nations estimates the total number of displaced in rebel-held areas is now around 145,000, an unprecedented level in the island nation's long-running conflict.

Officials warn the figure could soar above 200,000 in the weeks ahead.

The government launched an all-out offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in January after abandoning a tattered Norwegian-brokered cease-fire. Since then, nearly 6,000 rebels have been killed and their territory has shrunk by almost 75 percent, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The LTTE, listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department, disputes those figures.

Actual casualties are impossible to independently verify, since reporters are barred from the war zone and aid agencies are heavily restricted, though observers agree the military has made steady gains.

Security forces are currently trying to cut off a critical LTTE sea-supply line along the west coast of the northern Wanni region and simultaneously drive up the eastern flank to surround the political capital of Kilinochchi, where rebel chief Prabakharan is believed to be holed up in an underground bunker complex.

“There is no turning back under any circumstances or influence now until every inch of land is recaptured and each and every terrorist is killed or captured,” Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse told a rally this week.

While the military push in the north gathers momentum, the humanitarian crisis there worsens by the day.