Human Rights Watch called yesterday on the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels to allow tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the northern war zone to flee to safety amid intense fighting and shortages of aid.
The appeal came as a Red Cross staff member reportedly helping evacuate the wounded from the area was killed in the fighting.
International aid groups have expressed growing concerns for the safety of the civilians in recent weeks as government forces pushed the rebels out of much of their de facto state in the north and cornered them in a tiny strip of land along the northeast coast.
Health officials and witnesses have accused the government of killing scores of civilians in artillery attacks and the rebels of holding the civilians hostage for use as human shields against the military offensive. Both sides deny the accusations.
Aid groups estimate 200,000 civilians might be trapped along with the rebels. The government says the number is closer to 70,000.
Human Rights Watch said the civilians in the area were at grave risk from the fighting and dwindling supplies of aid. It said a “humanitarian disaster” was unfolding in the country.
The rights group, which estimated 2,000 civilians were killed in recent fighting, called on the government and the rebels to work together to let the civilians flee and to allow aid into the area.
The pro-rebel Web site Tamil.net said military shelling on Wednesday killed at least 70 civilians — 21 of them children. The attacks hit villages inside and outside a government-declared safe zone in rebel territory that the military promised not to attack.
Tamil.net said a Red Cross worker, who was returning from assisting in an evacuation of wounded civilians, was among those killed.
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