Sri Lankan government has warned civilians in rebel-held territory to move out of villages near separatist camps because aerial bombing will begin soon, a military spokesman said on Thursday. “The army has distributed Tamil language leaflets urging civilians in the eastern Batticaloa region to move at least three km away from camps run by LTTE,” Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne said.
The civilians have also been told not to visit the camps in coming days because of the planned bombing. “We plan to use new aircraft and sophisticated weapons to continuously attack LTTE camps,” said the leaflets, one of which was made available to the associated press. “We are taking these steps to free you innocent Tamil civilians from LTTE's grip and urge all those who love peace to cooperate,” the leaflet said.
Karunaratne said that the leaflets had been dropped from the air and sent into the rebel areas with civilians. Human rights groups have flayed the government in the past for causing civilian deaths and injuries through aerial bombardment of rebel strongholds. The government has recently increased air raids against the rebels, fighting since 1983 for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east. Bureau Report