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Sri Lanka rejects UN ceasefire call to free citizens
April 7, 2009 Gethin Chamberlain, Colombo Sri Lanka yesterday rejected a call by the UN for a ceasefire in its military campaign against the Tamil Tigers, insisting it would not be trapped into letting the group's leaders escape. Rebels belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have taken refuge in a tiny enclave measuring less than eight square miles, alongside tens of thousands of civilians who are unable to leave. Sri Lanka has accused the Tigers of using the civilians as human shields and claims they are being prevented from leaving. Aid agency officials say many civilians, including children, have been killed by the LTTE while trying to escape. Yesterday a senior UN human rights official warned of a bloodbath unless tens of thousands of civilians were allowed to leave the war zone. Walter Kaelin, the representative of the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, on the human rights of internally displaced persons, said: "If the Sri Lankan army would try to go into there, if the LTTE would not be ready to let these civilians go, then we'll end up with a bloodbath, and this must by all means be avoided." More than 400 Tamil fighters have died in intense fighting since the start of the month. Many are understood to have been killed after refusing to surrender, despite running short of ammunition. In London the conflict triggered clashes between protesters and police yesterday. Six people were arrested as a demonstration against the war entered its second day. Pro-Tamil demonstrators disrupted traffic on Westminster bridge until police moved them to Parliament Square. Yesterday the Sri Lankan military acknowledged that it faced an "extremely difficult task" in separating the fighters from the civilians in the no-fire zone which it declared earlier this year for non-combatants to shelter from the fighting. "They have merged into the rest of the civilians but they still have some strength to control those civilians," said Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, the Sri Lankan military spokesman. "They are forcefully keeping those civilians. They want us to move into that area and get international pressure to get asylum for their leadership. We don't want to get into that trap." The Sri Lankan government is widely believed to be on the verge of a military victory against the Tigers, who have been fighting for a separate state for ethnic Tamils in the country's north and east in a war that has lasted 25 years and claimed 70,000 lives. But the military claimed that even if it defeated the Tigers in their heartland it could take another two years to finish off sleeper cells in towns and cities across the country. Many of the Tigers' most senior figures have been killed in heavy fighting since the start of the month, but the group's leader, Prabhakaran, remains at large. Nanayakkara said Prabhakaran would be taken dead or alive. Sri Lanka insists its campaign against the Tigers is a humanitarian operation intended to free civilians who have been prevented from leaving the area. The rebel group accuses the government of shelling the zone, which the government strenuously denies. Kaelin said more than 100,000 civilians were trapped in the conflict zone. The Sri Lankan government says the figure is no more than 40,000. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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Related links
'Two of us fled. 75 other women killed themselves with grenades' 12 Apr 2009: The harrowing stories of captured female fighters who chose to surrender rather than carry out suicide orders At least 128 reported dead in Sri Lanka's 'no-fire zone' 11 Apr 2009: Military announce that operations to free tens of thousands of trapped civilians have entered final stage Sri Lanka rejects UN call for ceasefire in war against Tamil Tigers 7 Apr 2009: Government says it is determined to crush rebel leaders, despite mounting anger over civilians trapped in conflict zone
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