SRILANKA PLEDGED TO RESPECT "SAFE ZONE"!!! NO ATTACK ON TAMIL IDPs!!!

Amid war, Sri Lanka pledges to respect 'safe zone'

COLOMBO (AP): Sri Lanka has pledged not to launch attacks inside a ``safe zone'' set up as a place of refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped by the fierce fighting between the military and Tamil rebels, the government said on Wednesday.

The announcement came after repeated reports of army forces firing artillery into the zone, which the government set up on the edge of rebel-held territory for ethnic Tamil civilians to seek shelter from the fighting. Scores of civilians were killed in those attacks, a health official said.

The military denied firing into the area during its offensive to root the Tamil Tiger rebels from the northeast.

Amid the reports of rising casualties, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee rushed to Sri Lanka on Tuesday night and held emergency meetings with top officials, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

During the late-night meeting, Rajapaksa gave assurances Sri Lankan forces would respect the safe zone to ``minimize the effects of conflict on Tamil civilians,'' according to nearly identical statements released by India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Human rights groups and diplomats have expressed concerns for the estimated 250,000 civilians trapped in the territory still under rebel control _ an area of about 115 square miles (300 square kilometers). The government says the number is far lower.

At least 300 civilians were wounded and scores feared killed by Sri Lankan army artillery shells fired into the safe zone on Monday, according to a health official and pro-rebel reports. The military denied firing into the zone.

The government unilaterally declared a ``safe zone'' last week in a small section of rebel-held territory and called on civilians to move into that area. There have been several reports of artillery fire in that area, including Monday's shelling.

U.N. spokesman Gordon Weiss said his staff has seen ``dozens of people killed and wounded'' in the safe zone over the past few days, including 10 civilians killed Monday. He said he did not know who was responsible for firing in the area.

But a local health official, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the government, said he believed the government was responsible for the casualties because of the direction from which the fire came.

The Red Cross appealed to both sides Tuesday to allow the civilians to flee to safety.

``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,'' said Jacques de Maio, the International Committee of the Red Cross head of operations for South Asia.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said 3,141 civilians have fled to the government-controlled territory this month.

The shelling comes as the rebels continue to pull their forces and civilians into the last remaining areas of dense jungle still under their control. Government forces captured Mullaittivu, the last town held by the rebels, on Sunday.

The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create a separate state for minority Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalization at the hands of governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war.

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Text of President Rajapaksa's announcement

courtesy:hinduonnet.com