Related: Sri Lanka: Case Study in MSM Propaganda
The Boston Globe's Sri Lankan S***-Shovel
"Sri Lanka navy says hundreds rescued" by Reuters | March 19, 2009
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's navy rescued more than 640 people who fled the island's war zone in a clutch of small boats as Tamil Tiger rebels opened fire, the military said yesterday, but tens of thousands remained trapped.
I thought this was supposed to be over already; government said weeks months ago.
The military has the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cornered in 11 square miles of the Indian Ocean island's northeast, and is battling to deal a final blow to their 25-year separatist rebellion. At least 18 more rebels were killed in the latest clashes in the shrinking war zone, a military official said yesterday.
The UN children's agency UNICEF said hundreds of children were among the 2,800 civilians who have been killed in fighting , and warned that many more were at risk. The government calls the figures unsubstantiated.
The United Nations said last week the Tigers were forcibly holding thousands of people inside the war zone and making them fight or build defenses. The LTTE says people are staying out of choice. Nearly 44,000 have fled so far this year, almost 5,000 of them since Saturday.
Yesterday, 643 people in 35 small boats escaped a no-fire zone after sailors chased away LTTE boats, the military said.--more--"
