Sri Lanka's president on Sunday ordered government troops to halt their offensive against cornered Tamil rebels for two days to allow trapped civilians to escape the fighting.

The brief pause in hostilities comes after increasingly urgent international calls for civilians to be protected as the military attempts to finally crush the separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas, who have been pushed close to defeat.

The United Nations estimates that 100,000 civilians are trapped in a government-designated "no-fire zone" as the Sri Lankan military closes in on the rebels.

President Mahinda Rajapakse's office said the move would allow more civilians to leave the conflict zone and to celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year on Monday and Tuesday.

"His Excellency has directed the armed forces of the state to restrict their operations during the New Year to those of a defensive nature," it said in a statement.

It added that the halt would enable Tamils "to celebrate these festivities in a suitable atmosphere and to have uninhibited freedom of movement from the no-fire zone," a small area of rebel-held territory.

The Tigers, who are accused of holding the civilians hostage, have suffered months of battlefield setbacks that could finally end their decades-long armed campaign for an independent Tamil homeland.

Rajapakse reiterated the government's demands that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lay down arms and surrender to security forces who have forced the guerrillas into a strip of coastal jungle in the island's northeast.

"In the true spirit of the season, it is timely for the LTTE to acknowledge its military defeat," the statement said. "The LTTE must also renounce terrorism and violence permanently."

The Tigers suffered further major losses last week when at least 550 fighters were killed in four days of fighting to defend a village which eventually fell to government forces, officials said.

The state-run Sunday Observer reported that the remaining Tiger fighters had opened fresh talks with officials from Norway, which brokered an ineffectual peace deal in 2002.

It also said the US ambassador in Colombo, Robert Blake, had recently met with Sri Lankan army chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka and requested a week-long ceasefire, which was turned down.

Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was left with few senior comrades after the latest clashes and may try to flee the island during any ceasefire, the Observer added.

The Sri Lankan government has repeatedly stressed it would not agree to a truce short of outright victory.

There was no immediate comment from the Tigers, but the pro-rebel Tamilnet website said the military had fired 300 shells into the government-designated "no-fire zone" in 45 minutes early on Sunday.

"Heavy civilian casualties are feared," it said.

On Friday, the government announced that it had set up "rescue points" just outside the zone to help those civilians who had managed to flee the violence.

The UN, which calculated 2800 non-combatants died in a two-month period earlier this year, fears thousands more could be killed or wounded.

About 100 000 demonstrators marched through London on Saturday to demand a truce, and similar protests were held in Scandinavia and Paris.

Sri Lanka's military stepped up attacks against the Tigers after withdrawing from the Norwegian-arranged truce in January last year.

The guerrillas, who at the height of their power controlled about a third of the country, have now been confined to an area less than 20 square kilometres, according to the military.

AFP

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