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Sri Lanka troops 'take key town' | Sri Lanka troops 'take key town' |
(40 minutes later) | |
The Sri Lankan military says troops have captured a key Tamil Tiger stronghold in the east of the country. | The Sri Lankan military says troops have captured a key Tamil Tiger stronghold in the east of the country. |
Thousands of Tamil civilians are fleeing the town of Vakarai, which has been the focus of heavy fighting for several weeks. | Thousands of Tamil civilians are fleeing the town of Vakarai, which has been the focus of heavy fighting for several weeks. |
Aid agencies say they are worried about the fate of the civilians, many of whom were taking shelter in a hospital in Vakarai affected by the fighting. | |
The fall of Vakarai would badly disrupt Tamil Tiger supplies to the north. | The fall of Vakarai would badly disrupt Tamil Tiger supplies to the north. |
There has been no comment from the Tigers on the military's claim. | There has been no comment from the Tigers on the military's claim. |
Fled | |
"The troops are in control of the town of Vakarai," military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe told the BBC's Sinhala service. "Thousands of civilians are coming across to government-controlled areas." | |
The BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo says Tamil Tiger fighters fled into the jungle and by boat as government forces moved in. | |
The pro-Tamil Tiger website Tamilnet says that earlier the military stepped up shelling of the hospital in Vakarai, "forcing 15,000 civilians to flee... the hospital area". | |
The military has accused the Tigers of using civilians in the hospital as human shields and using the hospital as "an artillery launching pad". | |
Before Friday's developments, more than 30,000 civilians had already left Vakarai in recent weeks to escape the conflict. | |
The government says thousands more moved into areas under its control on Friday. | |
The Tigers want an independent homeland for Tamils | |
The United Nations Refugee agency, UNHCR, says more may remain in Vakarai and it is extremely concerned for their safety. | |
The UNHCR is calling on all sides to respect human rights. | |
Our correspondent says Vakarai was a key stronghold of the Tigers, used as a transit point between Sri Lanka's east and the north. | |
The Tigers had their own police force and civil administration in the area. | |
Homeland | |
In recent months the government has been stepping up military activity in the east, aiming to seize pockets of territory held by the Tigers. | |
About 65,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's civil war. | About 65,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's civil war. |
The Tigers are fighting for a separate homeland for the country's 3.1m minority Tamils, who say they have suffered decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. | The Tigers are fighting for a separate homeland for the country's 3.1m minority Tamils, who say they have suffered decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. |
Although both sides say they are adhering to a Norwegian-brokered 2002 cease-fire, violence has escalated since late 2005, with more than 3,600 people killed last year alone. | Although both sides say they are adhering to a Norwegian-brokered 2002 cease-fire, violence has escalated since late 2005, with more than 3,600 people killed last year alone. |