More than 1,400 civilians poured out of Sri Lanka's war zone today, bringing the total in the last four days to nearly 14,000.
The rate of civilians trapped in fighting between the military and the cornered Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has picked up sharply this week, signalling the onset of faster military operations to wipe out the guerrillas.
More than 50,000 soldiers are converging on a sliver of jungle in the Indian Ocean island's northeast to crush the LTTE - now estimated to number no more than 2,000 hardcore fighters - and end a war that has flared off and on since 1983.
Combat raged at numerous locations in the 175 sq km battle zone, killing at least 11 guerrillas in a series of attacks and counter-attacks on Saturday, the military said.
"On Saturday, 5,600 had come out. And today there are 1,400 who have come at the moment. There will be more and more coming," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Thursday marked the first major exodus, and since then 13,700 people have come to army-held territory, most of them heading west and away from the fighting on the A-35 road, he said.
Since January 1, around 17,900 have fled the fighting. That is roughly between 7 and 15 per cent of the total trapped in the area - aid agencies say around 250,000 are there, while the government says the number is about half of that.
The government, aid agencies and rights groups have accused the rebels of forcibly keeping people in the war zone as human shields, conscripts and labourers. The Tigers deny that.
The pro-rebel website www.TamilNet.com accused the military of shelling the A-35 and groups of civilians, killing more than 120 people on Friday and Saturday, but cited no sources. The military denies targeting civilians.
Verifying battlefield reports is next to impossible since the war zone is sealed off to independent media.
Reuters