The Sri Lankan government is urging civilians trapped by fighting in
the rebel-held north to go to a "safety zone," after repeated shelling
of a hospital in the region killed 11 people.
A government spokesman (Lakshman Hulugalle) says the
government can not be responsible for the safety of civilians still
living among what he called "terrorists" -- a reference to Tamil Tiger
rebels.
Concern has grown for an estimated 250-thousand people trapped by a
government offensive against rebels who now control only 300 square
kilometers of territory in the northeast.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says at least nine people
were killed Sunday in the shelling of a crowded hospital in rebel-held
territory. Two other people were killed when the hospital came under
attack again today (Monday).
United Nations spokesman Gordon Weiss says it is uncertain where the
shelling came from. He says the hospital has hundreds of patients who
are critically injured and are not receiving proper medical treatment.
A local health official said the Sri Lankan army fired the shells. The
army denies responsibilty and blames the Tamil Tiger rebels. A
pro-rebel Web site blames the the army.
The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to establish an
independent homeland for the Tamil ethnic minority in Sri Lanka's north
and east. More than 70-thousand people have died in the conflict.