Satellite images of Sri Lanka’s war zone indicate the government has shelled the area in recent days, a rights group said on Wednesday.
The UN condemned a ”bloodbath” in Sri Lanka on Monday after two days of shelling that a government doctor said killed 1 000 civilians.
The government appealed on Friday for civilians to flee the war zone and said it would open two safe passages in the area for the exodus.
Human Rights Watch called on Thursday on the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigerss to allow civilians trapped in the war zone to flee to safety.
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/ 13 February 2009
Fighting between government forces and rebels are killing about 40 civilians every day, the top health official in the region said on Friday.
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/ 30 January 2009
Sri Lanka’s president urged the Tiger rebels on Friday to allow about 250 000 civilians trapped in the northern war zone to flee to safety.
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/ 16 January 2009
Thousands have fled Sri Lanka’s northern war zone in recent days, crossing the front lines amid fierce fighting, the military said on Friday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday he would push ahead with the army’s widescale offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying the fight to free an abducted soldier and stop militant rocket fire would last for a ”long time”. The 12-day-old operation has caused widespread destruction in Gaza, left 51 Palestinians dead and led to international complaints that Israel was using excessive force.
A hospital official said early on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains in serious condition and will be in a medically induced coma the immediate future after a massive stroke, as Israelis and Palestinians grappled with the likelihood that the man who dominated politics in the region for decades would never return to power.
Palestinians fired a barrage of homemade rockets and mortar shells at Gaza Strip settlements and towns inside Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Israel said on Tuesday. Over two days, 15 Qassam rockets hit Israeli targets, wounding one Israeli and damaging at least five structures, the army said.