Ravi Nessman (AP)
Canadian Tamils demonstrate on a downtown street in Toronto, January 30, 2009. Pressure rose on Friday for Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tiger rebels to free thousands of people trapped in the war zone, after the president pledged safe passage and urged the rebels to let people move over the next two days (Reuters/Peter Jones, Canada).
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa appealed Friday to the Tamil Tiger rebels to allow the estimated 250,000 civilians trapped in the northern war zone to flee to safety in the next 48 hours.
Rajapaksa's appeal, published Friday on a government Web site, came after human rights groups and a top U.N. official expressed serious concern for the fate of the noncombatants in the area amid reports of heavy civilian casualties.
Human rights groups have accused the rebels of holding the civilians hostage and accused the military of launching heavy attacks in areas filled with noncombatants, including a government-declared "safe zone" in the north. The rebels and the military deny the charges. More>>
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