Thousands of SLankan refugees flee rebel-held east

COLOMBO, Dec 15 (Reuters) Thousands of refugees are fleeing Tamil Tiger territory through jungle and by sea in the island's east, the military and witnesses said today, trying to escape artillery duels between the army and rebels.

Nearly 1,300 minority Tamils arrived in camps in schools and welfare centres near the government-held town of Valachchenai today, and hundreds more were on their way, the military said -- adding eight refugees drowned at sea in their bid to escape.

About 2,000 people arrived on Thursday, bringing the total number of those who have fled rebel territory in the eastern districts of Trincomalee and Batticaloa to about 10,000 since the beginning of November, the military said.

''They are coming down to government territory now,'' said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.

''Many are coming through the jungle, some are going by boat in bad sea conditions. We have sent out the message they can come to our areas on roads, but the Tigers are stopping them.'' The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were not immediately available to comment on the exodus.

Shocked by the death of eight refugees who drowned at sea when the fishing boats they were fleeing in capsized -- among them a seven-year-old girl -- the United Nations called on both sides to stop shelling and respect civilian rights.

Two small boats were still missing.

''People are risking their lives daily on small boats and more such accidents will occur as vulnerable people are desperate to reach safety by any means, land or sea,'' the office of the acting UN Resident Representative said in a statement.

''The United Nations calls for a cessation of hostilities by both parties and urges the LTTE to facilitate and allow IDPs (internally displaced) to leave the area and that the Sri Lankan army grants and ensures their safe passage.'' About 30,000 displaced Tamils are living in camps in the rebel-held town of Vakarai in the eastern district of Batticaloa, where the Tigers say dozens of civilians have been killed by army shelling.

The military has vowed to drive the Tigers out of the area, which the Tigers control under the terms of a battered 2002 ceasefire pact, and resettle civilians there -- which Nordic truce monitors say violates what is left of the truce.

The foes accuse each other of using civilians as human shields.

The Tigers, who accuse successive Sinhalese-majority governments of discriminating against minority Tamils, say they are intensifying their fight for an independent state in the north and east after President Mahinda Rajapakse flatly rejected their demands for a separate homeland.

More than 3,000 troops, civilians and rebel fighters have been killed so far this year. The conflict has killed more than 67,000 people since 1983.

REUTERS AB BD2328