Rebel police firing at civilians in N Sri Lanka

Friday, April 10, 2009 at 1:08 am

The Sri Lankan military on Thursday blamed Tamil Tiger rebels’ police of firing at civilians in order to deter them from leaving their grasp in the no-fire zone (NFZ) declared by the government in the northern Mullaittivu district.

Officials from the Ministry of Defense said that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) deputy -leader Pottu Amman had ordered the rebels’ police to fire at civilians who wanted to leave the NFZ.

This was following Wednesday’s final notice given by the government to rebel leaders to surrender and let the civilian population to leave Mullaittivu’s no-fire zone at Puttumatalan.

The rebels have now been limited to the NFZ of less than 20 sq km, said the military.

The LTTE has been condemned for holding Tamil civilians as human shields. The government said more than 60,000 people have already arrived in government controlled areas while another 50,000 to 60,000 are remaining in the NFZ under rebel hold.

However, aid agencies said around 230,000 civilians were trapped in the northern battle field when the military made its advance into rebel areas in the north in the last quarter of 2008.

The LTTE lost a string of senior leaders as well as about 500 cadres in fighting with the troops from Friday and Sunday in their last stronghold of Puthukkudiyiruppu.

The LTTE’s over three-decade-old battle to create a separate homeland for the minority Tamils is about to see its end, the military said.

Claiming discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese dominated governments, the LTTE began to fight for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east in the mid-1980s, resulting in the killing of more than 70,000 people in the Indian Ocean island.

Rebel police firing at civilians in N Sri Lanka

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