Sri Lanka appeals to Tamils to flee to govt territory

Sri Lanka on Thursday appealed to minority ethnic Tamil civilians living in the line of fire in rebel-held towns to move to areas under government control, saying it would guarantee them safe passage.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said the military had cleared a route for people fleeing the island's embattled north, where troops are advancing on the rebel capital of Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (205 miles) north of Colombo.
"We plan to give passage to people from Kilinochchi to come to (government-held) Vavuniya. We're dropping leaflets from the air, encouraging people to leave, giving details of routes to take to safety," Rajapakse said.
Nearly 135,000 people have been driven from their homes because of fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in the past two months, according to UN aid agencies.
"It's better for civilians to come to government-cleared areas so we can start to resettle them faster," said Rajapakse, the younger brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.
His comments came as the defence ministry said at least 37 rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and five government soldiers were killed in the latest clashes in the north on Wednesday.
The latest fighting brought the number of rebels killed by troops since January to 6,167, according to government figures.
The government says 581 of its troops have died over the same period.
Casualty figures cannot be verified as the military blocks media access to frontlines.
Sri Lankan troops have been advancing deeper into rebel-held territory as they push to dismantle the LTTE's northern stronghold after ejecting the guerrillas from the east of the island in July 2007.
Government agencies and the few aid groups who are allowed to operate inside rebel-held areas in the north have reported there are sufficient stocks of food and medicine, Rajapakse said.
News from - LBO