Aid agencies estimate that around 150,000 to 180,000 people remain trapped in a conflict zone measuring less than 125 square kilometres in the far north of the island-nation.

These civilians are effectively being used as hostages by the rebels, who are aware that their presence prevents the Sri Lanka Army from launching a full scale military assault. 

Nearly 40,000 civilians have been able to cross over into Government controlled territory near Mullaitivu, the last area under control by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Over 14 schools and several other state owned buildings in Vavuniya, in northern Sri Lanka, are being used to accommodate the influx of displaced people.

A string of recent military victories by the Sri Lanka armed forces has brought about a turnaround in the long drawn out war with the LTTE. The army is moving to capture the remaining rebel-controlled area, near the town of Mullaitivu, a port on the North East coast. If successful, the government will control the entire island for the first time since the beginning of the separatist war in 1983. Over 75,000 people have lost their lives since the conflict began.

The danger to civilians is especially acute for children, who are now caught in the crossfire as the theatre of war shrinks on a daily basis. In nearly three decades of fighting, children have often been involuntarily forced to join the armed forces.

Date first published: Monday 23 February 2009