- Title: SRI LANKA/INDIA: Sri Lanka war deepens as thousands flee conflict zone
- Date: 4th August 2006
- Summary: (DAY SCENES) AMBULANCE BRINGING INJURED TO HOSPITAL VARIOUS OF INJURED BEEN RUSHED INTO HOSPITAL VARIOUS OF INJURED BOY BEEN TREATED INJURED BOY BEING WHEELED THROUGH HOSPITAL BOY CRYING DOCTORS LOOKING OVER INJURED BOY VARIOUS OF BOY CRYING (SOUNDBITE) (Tamil) G.VELUKUMAR SAYING: "Our village has been hit by shells. The Tamil Tiger rebels and the army are firing at eac
- Embargoed: 19th August 2006 13:00
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- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAAGM9INBAWDC02EF1LCZ1DM07T
- Story Text: Thousands of civilians fled Sri Lanka's eastern battle zone by tractor and on foot on Friday (August 4) as shells fell nearby during an artillery battle between Tamil Tiger rebels and the army, survivors said.
Small pockets of rebels continued firefights with troops in the eastern Muslim town of Mutur, where aid workers say between 20,000-30,000 people were trapped by the fighting.
Tamil Tigers also attacked army camps and Norway's peace envoy flew in to discuss the future of Nordic truce monitors as the island slides back to civil war.
Dozens of badly wounded people, including several children, were ferried across Trincomalee harbour in gunboats to the town of the same name on Thursday, where the hospital is overflowing with casualties.
At least 20 civilians, 12 Tigers and one soldier were killed on Thursday (August 3). The military says it has killed more than 70 rebels in the past week and the Tigers say they have the bodies of 40 troops ready to hand over. But each side dismisses the other's claims.
Residents who've come under fire have called on both sides to stop the fighting immediately.
"Our village has been hit by shells. The Tamil Tiger rebels and the army are firing at each other and we are caught in the middle. We have nothing to eat or drink. Things are very difficult," said G.Velukumar.
"They are fighting. When we hear the explosions we get scared. Tell the government to stop this war. Our children are affected, our lives are affected," said Nirmali Sathasivam.
Amid fears the fighting could spread to the Sinhalese-majority south, police arrested two suspected rebel fighters in a lorry carrying claymore mines and hand grenades in the port town of Galle 60 miles (100 km) south of Colombo.
Well over 800 people have been killed so far this year in escalating attacks and military clashes between the army and the Tigers, who are furious at President Mahinda Rajapakse's outright rejection of their demand for a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north and east.
Many civilians fleeing the violence risked crossing the Gulf of Mannar dividing the island nation with its neighbour and arrived in India.
19 people belonging to 7 families from eastern Trincomallee arrived in Ramanthanpuram in southern Tamil Nadu province. The group included 7 children.
"It is very difficult to live there. Even food is barely available. That is why we have come crossing the sea, taking the risk of drowning, to save the lives of our children. We have sold everything. We had to pay the ferry. We have nothing left now. The boat owners normally charge eight to ten thousand rupees (175-220 dollars), but they have shown some sympathy and charged us seven thousand (150 dollars)," said refugee Anton Raj, as he wiped tears from his eyes.
"We could not dare to go out even to get daily essentials. No one can ever be sure of life there. Even if two or three families stay together, there is no security. That is why we left everything and ventured to come here, crossing the sea," added another refugee, Mary.
Most of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers head for the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, an area that has hosted Tamil refugees since 1983 when large-scale violence broke out in the island-nation between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils.
The fighting is the most intense and prolonged since a 2002 truce and diplomats and some military personnel say the civil war that began in 1983 appears to have resumed in all but name.
Analysts say the island's protracted peace process is coming apart at the seams. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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