Sri Lanka army 'killed civilians'

The Tamil Tigers have accused the Sri Lankan government of killing about 1,000 civilians and injuring many more during its latest military offensive.

The government has denied the allegations, in turn accusing the rebel group of targeting civilians.

It said by midday (0630 GMT) nearly 50,000 civilians had fled the rebel-held area in the north of the island.

Meanwhile government forces say they have made inroads into the sliver of territory still held by the Tigers.

They have entered two villages in the zone and in effect control the north-west third of it.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was "extremely worried" about civilians still trapped in the zone.

"The situation is nothing short of catastrophic. Ongoing fighting has killed or wounded hundreds of civilians who have only minimal access to medical care," said Director of Operations Pierre Kraehenbuehl.

Offensive continued

A deadline for the rebels to surrender or face a final assault expired at 0630 GMT with no word from the Tigers.

"The [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] has not responded to the government's call to surrender, so we are keeping up our offensive to rescue the civilians," said army spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara.

The Tamil Tigers said in a statement that more than 1,000 civilians had been killed and 2,300 injured during bombardments by government forces on Monday.

The rebel TamilNet website said the territory they still controlled was littered with bodies of civilians.

Video released by Tiger supporters shows mutilated bodies, but it is not clear when the recording was made.

They said it was filmed on Monday, but this cannot be verified.

It follows footage released by the government showing civilians fleeing the war zone.

One man who said he spoke for the Tigers, who gave his name as Thileepan, told the BBC a hospital, an orphanage and many houses had been hit.

He said people had been reduced to hiding under logs and trees and using makeshift bunkers dug into the sand.