Sri Lanka Allegedly Shelled 'Safe Zone,' Killed 67

[tekisui]

Source: AP

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Sri Lankan military shelled a village and a makeshift hospital inside a government-declared "safe zone" for civilians in the north Thursday, killing at least 30 people and injuring scores of others, local health officials said.

The military denied hitting the hospital and said it was taking precautions to protect civilians. Health officials said at least 67 civilians were killed in shelling since Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the military announced the capture of a building the rebels had used as their main operations center in their fight against the advancing army.

With the government's offensive against the Tamil Tigers escalating, international aid groups are increasingly concerned about the safety of the hundreds of thousands of civilians reportedly living inside the shrinking pocket of rebel-held territory in the northeast.

Human rights groups have accused the rebels of forcing civilians to stay in the area to act as human shields — a charge the rebels deny.

In an effort to coax civilians to leave, the government dropped leaflets throughout the region Wednesday announcing the establishment of a "safe zone" on the edge of rebel-held territory that it would not attack. Civilians there would then be transferred across the front lines, the military said.

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