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54 civilians killed in SL 'no fire zone'

Army repulses LTTE attack: 30 rebels killed .

AP, Pti, Colombo
Shelling killed 54 civilians in a supposed ”no-hie zone in Srl Lanka's war between the government and separatist Tamil rebels while 30 more Tamil liger rebels were killed in fresh fighting In the island’s north yesterday.
Ihe victims were among the tens of thousands of terrified civilians trapped in a sliver of jungle and beach along the island's northeast coast fomenting the exodus of people fleeing the fighting where government troops are battling to dislodge remnantsof theTamil Tiger rebels, officials said.
Earlier four top LTTE commanders were among 30 rebels killed as Sri Lankan troops
beat back a massive Tamil Tiger counter artack in Pudukudiyirippu, the last town held by them in the embattled north. After repulsing the Tiger attack Wednesday night, troops in retail tory action wrested more areas from the rebels confining them now to 21 sq kmsout of which 20 sqkms forms the 'No-Fire Zone'.
The troops killed senior LTTE leaders Varada Annan, Kadar, Sooriyan and Eelawag m the attacks as they pushed back the rebel attack on their forward lines in Iranaippalai in Mik ' 30 militants were killed," Army spokesman l Jdaya Nanayakkara said. Security forces recovered five dead bodies of rebels including three females along with a vehicle, a communication
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set and T-56 weapons after the clash, the spokesman said.
DrThurairajaVaratharajah, chief of a makeshift hospital in the war zone and the top government health official in the area, said 54 people were killed by shelling on Wednesday alone.
"Now 165 injured people are in hospital. 54 dead," Varatharajah said. "We are still receivingwounded people."
Access to the war zone is restricted and it is not possible to confirm who fired the shells.
The military has repeatedly denied that it has shelled the 7.5-mile-Iong (12-kilometer) "no-fire" zone that it has proclaimed as a place for civilians to seek safety. The government has also disputed statements by Varatharajah in the past.
Many civilians want to flee the war zone but have been stopped by the rebels. A statement Wednesday on the government's Web site said 1,515 people, including nearly 650 children, had crossed into military-controlled areas by late Tuesday near Puthkkudiyirippu, the last rebel-held town, where battles have been raging for weeks.
The Sri Lankan military says more than 50.000 civilians have escaped since the beginning ol January, with the
number averaging more than 1.000 a day in the last week.
On Wednesday, the Britishbased charity group Christian Aid became the latest to warn of the dangers faced by the remaining civilians trapped in the war zone, saying their situation was "becoming graver by the day" as supplies of food, medicine and fresh water run low.
The group called on the government and rebels to allow more access by aid workers to the people.
The United Nations, European Union and numerous countries have also recently voiced concern about the situation. The UN has said 2,800 civilians caught in the fighting have been killed since late January'. The government disputes that figure.
The UN estimates at least 150,000 civilians are trapped in the war zone. The government says the number is closer to 50,000 to 60,000, and accuses the rebels of using them as human shields in a bid to avoid defeat
The rebels have been fight ing since 1983 for an independent state lor the Tamil minority, whn h suffered decades of marginalisation at the hands of governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.