Foreign nationals flee embattled North Lanka

Hundreds of foreigners fled the embattled northeast amid fresh spurt in fighting that left 12 rebels dead and five soldiers injured.

Hundreds of foreigners on Sunday, fled Sri Lanka's embattled northeast amid fresh spurt in fighting that left at least 12 Tamil Tiger rebels dead and five soldiers injured.

HT Image

The Red Cross ferried 150 foreign nationals, trapped by fighting, to safety from the Jaffna peninsula.

The ferry docked at the port of Trincomalee in the country's northeast in the early hours.

The passengers included foreign aid workers on tsunami-related projects pulled out by aid agencies because of the ongoing clashes.

The Red Cross said that negotiations were continuing to try to send more boats to bring the rest of the estimated 500 foreigners out of the area where food, water and medical supplies were running low

Meanwhile, clashes continued on the frontlines with six soldiers killed on Saturday, by a device left behind by rebels.

Sporadic fighting broke out elsewhere on the island with 12 rebels killed and 20 injured during a battle in the northeastern Batticaloa district, a defence ministry spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

The military fired back after a group of about 25 rebels fired mortars, injuring seven soldiers, as they tried to break into government-held territory. "Twelve LTTE were killed, 20 were injured. The bodies have probably been taken away."

The pro-rebel tamilnet.com website reported two people were injured, including a 10-year-old child, during military shelling from the area.