COLOMBO, Dec 18: Over 20,000 Tamil civilians have fled areas under the Tamil Tiger rebels in the eastern Battiocaloa district in the past six weeks following heavy fighting between the Tiger guerrillas and the military, humanitarian sources said.

Many more Tamil civilians are continuing to flee volatile areas in Batticaloa as heavy mortar and artillery fire continue, sources say. Last week eight Tamil refugees from the east, who used a sea route to flee to safer areas died when their boats capsized mid sea.

“At least five thousand people have fled the conflict areas over the weekend. Temporary shelters are yet to be facilitated for many,” an aid worker said.

Military spokesperson Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said troops had attacked the rebel artillery and gun fire positions in Vakarai in the Batticaloa district over the weekend and accused the LTTE of using humans as shields to fire at the military.