Thousands of civilians were on the run on Sunday in Sri LankaÂ’s restive northeast after heavy artillery exchanges left over 85 people dead, according to the Tamil rebels and government forces.Nearly 3,000 people took shelter in schools and Buddhist temples after fleeing rebel artillery fire in northeast Sri Lanka, officials said on Sunday, as a second day of fierce fighting killed and wounded dozens.
Several hundred civilians arrived in the government held town of Kantale southwest of the strategic harbour of Trincomalee in the far northeast on Saturday, and nearly 2,000 more joined them on Sunday, officials said.
“They (the Tigers) attacked civilian villages, so these people came to Kantale and we are looking after them,” said Trincomalee Government Agent Ranith de Silva, the district’s most senior civil servant.
The Defence Ministry said that 40 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and another 40 were wounded when troops retaliated against Tiger artillery attacks on Saturday. It said government forces lost two soldiers and that another 37 were wounded.