COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (AP) - At least 28 civilians have been killed in two days of fighting as Sri Lankan troops try to push into a small “no-fire zone” where Tamil Tiger rebels have bunkered down for their final stand, a health official said Saturday.
The rebels lost to government forces the de facto state they controlled for years in parts of the country’s north and east and have retreated into a tiny slice of land that the government earlier declared a haven for civilians fleeing the fighting in this island’s nation’s 25-year civil war.
There have been widespread international calls for a cease-fire to allow the more than 100,000 civilians trapped in the 7.7-square mile (20-square kilometers) zone to reach safety _ but the government has rejected a long-term cease-fire, saying it would only give the rebels time to regroup.
An official from the only makeshift hospital in the region said 15 civilians bodies with war wounds were brought to his facility Saturday and another 13 bodies the day before. More than 160 civilians are being treated for wounds after being caught in the crossfire between the military and rebels, he said.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The defense ministry reported on its Web site that soldiers killed eight rebels in their push toward the “no-fire zone,” but the statement made no mention of civilian casualties.
It said the rebels fired artillery from the zone on Friday and the army returned fire, catching the insurgents in “total disarray” as they fled toward populated areas to take cover.
The report did not say if there were any military casualties.
The government’s account of the battle could not be confirmed because independent journalists are barred from the war zone.
The government announced a two-day cease-fire earlier this week to allow the civilians to flee the zone, but only a few hundred crossed the front lines before the truce expired Wednesday morning.
The United States and India on Friday called for a halt to fighting and a U.N. envoy met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss efforts to get civilians out of the war zone.
The U.N. estimates at least 4,500 civilians have been killed in fighting over the past three months, and 12,000 have been wounded.
International rights groups have accused the rebels of using the civilians as human shields, and accused the government of disregarding the civilians’ safety in its drive to destroy the Tamil Tigers. Both sides deny the accusations.
The rebels have been fighting to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have faced decades of marginalization by successive governments controlled by the ethnic Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.
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On the Net:
Sri Lankan Defense Ministry: https://www.defence.lk
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