More civilians flee Sri Lanka fighting

By C. Bryson Hull

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan troops advanced on the Tamil Tigers on Friday and 5,000 civilians fled the shrinking war zone, signalling a military finish to Asia's longest modern war despite Western calls for a negotiated end.

With an end to Sri Lanka's 25-year separatist conflict in sight, the U.N. rights chief backed calls for an independent inquiry into possible war crimes and violations by both sides.

The stakes could not be higher for either side. The Tigers face destruction by overwhelming firepower and force, and Sri Lanka wants to ensure the rebels do not escape from the jaws of defeat, as they have earlier in a war that began in 1983.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said fighting forced it to temporarily halt evacuations and aid to those trapped on the Indian Ocean island's northeast coast.

"Our staff are witnessing an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe," ICRC operations director Pierre Krahenbuhl said in a statement. "No humanitarian organisation can help them in the current circumstances. People are left to their own devices."

The military said 5,000 people escaped on Friday from the 2.5 square km (1 sq mile) held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) after 3,765 fled on Thursday across a lagoon under rebel fire, some of them floating in inflated tyre tubes.

"Troops are coming along the coastal line, and closing in," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said. "We want to rescue the civilians in 48 hours."

Pro-rebel website www.TamilNet.com reported on Friday that "close-quarter fighting was on," quoting an unidentified rescue worker who said most civilians were hiding in bunkers.