by Shamindra Ferdinando

*Prepares resettlement plan as army sets up new safe zone on Mullaitivu coast

With major ground battles on the eastern flank in the final stages, the government yesterday expressed confidence that re-settlement of civilians in the war ravaged areas could start as early next month.

In Sri Lanka, Tales of Jungle Terror 

By Emily Wax 

Washington Post Foreign Service 

Trying to quiet her crying infant son, the young mother grabbed her 11-year-old's hand and told him to follow her. Starting out at dusk, they spent hours hiding in the jungle terrain, crouching amid the crossfire between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tiger rebels.

Members of Sri Lanka's Tamil ethnic group gather in Vavuniya to bury relatives who were killed while trying to flee territory controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels. (Associated Press)

At a Media Briefing to Foreign Journalists on Tuesday February 10 Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe addressed the issue of Tamil civilians who had been trapped by the LTTE in the Vanni, and who were now attempting to escape. Two recent incidents confirmed the determination of the LTTE to prevent these civilians from getting away, even at the cost of their lives.