Sri Lanka Declares 48-Hour Ceasefire in Civil War

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s military will halt fighting for two days to allow tens of thousands of trapped civilians to escape a no-fire zone where they are being held by the Tamil Tigers, the Media Minister said on Sunday.
“Cabinet decided there will be a halt to fighting for the Sinhala and Tamil New Years on Monday and Tuesday,” Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, also the Cabinet spokesman, said.
Amid mounting international concern for the safety of thousands of civilians trapped in a small strip of coastal land in the island’s north-eastern Mullaitivu district, US ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert O’Blake had met Army commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka.
According to the media report, the US ambassador “had apparently made a request for him (Army chief) to agree to a seven days’ ceasefire to rescue the civilians trapped inside the No-Fire-Zone”.
Killing over 525 LTTE cadres in 72 hours of fierce battle for Puthukkudiyiruppu, the military said that the troops were “close to the last leg of the war” against the LTTE which has been fighting for a separate state over the past quarter century.
“As the troops are poised to enter the No-Fire-Zone, it has been reported that Prabhakaran is making an effort to flee the country apparently with the assistance of the Norwegian government,” the media report said.
It said although there had been no official intimation about the discussions the Tamil Tigers had with the Norwegian government, LTTE’s political leader Nadesan has had a lengthy discussion with the Norwegians about the situation in the No-Fire-Zone.
There is no immediate response from the LTTE in this regard. A top visiting UN envoy has said that over 100,000 civilians were “trapped in the 14 sq km No-Fire-Zone” and expressed deep concern for their lives.