Aid agency Red Cross has urged the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to allow and facilitate the safe and voluntary movement of civilians out of the combat zone in northern part of the island.

The agency added that the intensified fighting between the government forces and the LTTE in the northern Vanni region has caused the death of hundreds of people and many others wounded.

sri lanka refugees civilians 290109 01 The situation of the civilians there is also putting pressure on the understaffed and ill-equipped medical facilities in that region, added Red Cross in a statement today.

"People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded.

"The violence is preventing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from operating in the region," said the agency's head of operations for South Asia Jacques de Maio.

The Geneva-based agency said that the terrified population - almost all of whom are Tamils - was in need of protection, medical care and basic assistance.

sri lanka refugees civilians 290109 02 An estimated 250,000 people are trapped in a 250 square-kilometre area which has come under intense fighting. They have no safe area to take shelter and are unable to flee, added Red Cross.

"When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation, unless civilians are protected and international humanitarian law is respected in all circumstances," said de Maio.

"It's high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out."

UN convoy blocked

He added that hundreds of patients needed emergency treatment and evacuation to Vavuniya Hospital in the government-controlled area.

He also said that the agency was determined to stay as long as possible in the Vanni region and hoped that the parties in the conflict would respect its presence and its work.

He said that humanitarian assistance must be allowed to enter Vanni.

sri lanka refugees civilians 290109 05 Aid workers and their premises must be protected from shelling and looting, as required by international humanitarian law, he added.

De Maio said that both the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE must spare the lives of those not, or no longer, taking direct part in the fighting.

The aid agency also said that it was stepping up its support for Puthukkudiyiruppu Hospital in Vanni.

Red Cross is the only international aid agency to have remained permanently in Vanni over the past four months with the agreement of both sides.

Meanwhile, with aid supplies mostly blocked, the United Nations will be making a new bid today to evacuate badly injured civilians.

A UN representative based in Colombo had said that its convoy was trapped in Puthukkudiyiruppu but will nevertheless continue to attempt to reach hundreds of critically wounded civilians, including at least 50 seriously injured children.

Military has zero civilian casualty policy

The Sri Lankan government however denied the reports of a major humanitarian crisis in the north.

The BBC quoted Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as saying that the government had a policy of "zero" civilian casualties.

Rajapakse said both the Red Cross and UN were wrong about the situation in the north.

sri lanka refugees civilians 290109 04 "I'm not saying they are lying but they are exaggerating," he said. The government has also blamed the Tamil Tigers for preventing medical and other aid supplies from reaching the affected people.

He also ruled out any ceasefire for humanitarian reasons, saying it would give the Tigers a chance to reorganise.

"The purpose of this offensive is to eradicate them," he said, adding that the military was involved in a final push against retreating rebels.

In a related matter the Indian government has sought assurance from Colombo for the protection of Tamil civilians.

Indian's Foreign Minister met Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday to put pressure on Colombo to protect the ethnic Tamil civilians.

And at the meeting, the Indian minister was given an undertaking by Rajapaksa that the military would "minimise" the effect of the conflict on the Tamil population.

LTTE: Civilians are still being targeted

The LTTE meanwhile has denied that it was preventing patients leaving combat zone, as claimed by the Sri Lankan government.

The pro-LTTE website TamilNet had quoted the movement's political office as saying that it welcomed the Red Cross into the region to treat the injured civilians.

puleedevan ltte peace secretariat "In fact, the LTTE has been repeatedly urging the ICRC to facilitate unhindered transportation of injured civilians who need urgent attention and also for the provision of medical facilities locally," said director of LTTE's peace secretariat S Puleedevan ( photo ).

He added that only a makeshift hospital functioned at Udaiyaarkaddu in the "safety zone" declared by Colombo but TamilNet claimed that even the safety zone came under "continuous artillery attack by the Sri Lankan forces".

The website also reported that the Sri Lankan army had launched brutal attacks on civilians inside the safety zone, killing 23 civilians since Wednesday.

sri lanka refugees civilians 290109 03 It said that this attack came on the heels of the assurance given by Colombo to the Indian Foreign Minister that civilians would not be targeted.

TamilNet reported that at least 121 civilians were wounded in the attacks, quoting medical sources. It added that the dead included a child residing in an orphanage in Paarathipuram.