Brits urged to leave Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan authorities have vowed to drive the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) out from the eastern coast after weeks of heavy fighting between the two armies in the north-east of the country, an area the Foreign Office strongly advises British nationals leave immediately.

Despite calls from the UN for a halt to the fighting which has killed over 3,000 civilians in recent weeks, the security situation in Sri Lanka appears to be growing worse prompting the Foreign Office to issue a statement saying: "If you are in the north or east, you should leave."

The recent clashes between the two sides are over a small section of land in the east, where tens of thousands of civilians' lives are a risk.

Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe told Reuters: "The LTTE are firing artillery and mortars towards civilian settlements and camps in Trincomalee south and keeping 35,000 people as human shields.

"So we have to respond to that threat as a countermeasure. We will control most of the coastline in the east."

Amin Awad, acting UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sri Lanka, called for an end to the violence.

"All fundamental rights are currently being breached in areas like Vaharai and villages in Trincomalee district and it is imperative that direct shelling where civilians reside stops," he said.