Lanka declares 48-hr ceasefire in civil war

Sri Lanka's president yesterday ordered government troops to halt their offensive against cornered Tamil rebels for two days to give tens of thousands of civilians a chance 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," which is the last remaining territory held by the rebels.
President Mahinda Rajapakse's office said the ceasefire would allow 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."
The Tigers, who are accused of holding the civilians hostage, have suffered months of battlefield setbacks that could finally end their campaign for an independent Tamil homeland after 37 years of violence.
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."
Britain, the former colonial power in Sri Lanka, praised the government ceasefire while urging the LTTE to follow suit.
"I very much welcome the announcement by President Rajapakse of a pause in the fighting between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement.
"The UK's concern for the civilians caught in the fighting is acute. It is vital that they are now able to move freely out of the conflict area."
The Tigers endured further major losses last week when at least 550 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.