Colombo  - International aid officials expressed concern Monday about artillery bombardments that hit a hospital in a Tamil rebel-controlled area in northern Sri Lanka and killed at least eight people.

UNICEF spokesman James Elder said the organization confirmed that the hospital in Pudukudirippu, 385 kilometres north-east of Colombo, had been shelled twice Sunday night.

Colombo  -  warned ambassadors, news agencies and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to act "with responsibility" as security forces were set to defeat the Tamil rebels.

In an interview with the Sunday Island newspaper, Rajapaksa warned that those acting irresponsibly will face "dire consequences" if they "attempt to give the LTTE terrorists a second breath of life".

Colombo  - The government will maintain a "safe zone" for civilians fleeing the fighting between security forces and Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka, a military spokesman said Sunday.

The announcement came as a 48-hour deadline for Tamil rebels to allow civilians to leave conflict areas and enter army-controlled zones under safe passage lapsed Saturday night, with only about 100 civilians making use of the opportunity.

Colombo - The government will maintain a "safe zone" for civilians fleeing the fighting between security forces and Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka, a military spokesman said Sunday.

The announcement came as a 48-hour deadline for Tamil rebels to allow civilians to leave conflict areas and enter army-controlled zones under safe passage lapsed Saturday night, with only about 100 civilians making use of the opportunity.

Colombo - The Sri Lankan government Friday ruled out a truce with Tamil rebels as security forces continued operations and moved further into rebel-held territory in the North.

Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told reporters that ongoing military operations would continue in the Mullaitivu district, 380 kilometres northeast of Colombo
- but a 48-hour period had been given for civilians to move into safer areas.

Colombo - The United Nations and Red Cross on Thursday helped evacuate about 350 critically ill or injured people from areas in northern Sri Lanka where fighting between government troops and Tamil rebels is raging, a medical doctor based in the north said.

The patients and the injured were trapped in the Pudukudirippu hospital, 385 kilometres north-east of Colombo.