COLOMBO, April 21, 2009 (AFP) - The Tamil Tigers on Tuesday accused Sri Lankan government forces of killing more than 1,000 civilians and wounding another 2,300 during heavy fighting the previous day.
The island's defence ministry, however, rejected the allegation and said there had been no military attacks against Tamil civilians in the remaining patch of land still in the hands of the Tigers in the island's northeast.
"Over 1,000 civilians were killed and nearly 2,300 civilians were injured," the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said in a statement. "And today, a bloodbath is prevailing."
The LTTE, in its first reaction to the latest fighting since a 24-hour government deadline for them to surrender expired at noon (0630 GMT) Tuesday, said the military had taken more territory from them since Monday.
"The Sri Lankan armed forces are trying to weaken the resistance of the LTTE by using the Tamil civilians as human shields," the Tigers said.
It said the coastal village of Puttumatalan, which was used as a key port for supplies to the rebel-held territory, had fallen to government forces.
The area was also used by the International Committee of the Red Cross to operate a ferry to evacuate wounded civilians from the remaining rebel-held territory.
The Tigers said they had suggested an alternate landing place for the ICRC to operate and called for urgent supplies of food and medicines.
"The LTTE requests the ICRC provide medical supplies and evacuate by ship the 2,000 people injured and facing imminent danger," the Tigers said. "Immediate food is required as several are faced with starvation."
The defence ministry media centre denied that the security forces had targeted civilians and rejected the Tiger statement.
"Its totally false statement. There has been no shelling from our part," said Lakshman Hulugalle, the head of the media centre. "They are making these false allegations because they are nearing defeat."
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Received by NewsEdge Insight: 04/21/2009 07:19:38
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