civilians trapped in the middle

The Colombo spokeswoman for the International Red Cross Sophie Romanens told the BBC the humanitarian situation was deteriorating daily, with tens of thousands of people heading into the narrow Tiger-controlled coastal strip in the past few days.

The ICRC said it was seriously concerned about the lack of medical supplies, food and clean drinking water.

escalating attacks

Meanwhile, Amnesty International said tens of thousands of people trapped in what are officially regarded as 'safe zones' in the Wanni region were at increased risk from escalating attacks by the Tigers and the Sri Lankan armed forces.

	Wounded needs to be evacuated for treatment

Amnesty International is calling for an "immediate humanitarian truce", to allow aid to reach trapped civilians and ensure the safe passage for all those that wish to leave.

In a statement released in London, The organization say that they also called on the "United Nations and international donors to put pressure on Sri Lanka to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to camps for the displaced people in the region".

deliberate firing on civilians

“The deliberate firing on civilians by either side constitutes a war crime,” said Sam Zarifi, Director of the Asia Pacific region at Amnesty International.

Amensty International has received credible and consistent reports that the LTTE has forcibly displaced civilians and pushed them into areas under their control in the Wanni, where they are effectively held hostage

In their statement the organisation blame the Tamil Tigers for keeping the people by force.

"Amensty International has received credible and consistent reports that the LTTE has forcibly displaced civilians and pushed them into areas under their control in the Wanni, where they are effectively held hostage and used as a buffer against the Sri Lankan armed forces – a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law".

Firing on escaping civilians

The LTTE is also reported to have deliberately attacked civilians that have tried to escape from areas under their control.

The Sri Lankan government has intensified the suffering of the displaced people by cutting off international humanitarian assistance

In their report Amnesty claims, "The Sri Lankan government has intensified the suffering of the displaced people by cutting off international humanitarian assistance to a region where there are no longer any functioning hospitals."

excuse to discriminate

Amnesty International says that the government is using the screening process at checkpoints and in transitional “welfare villages” as an excuse to discriminate against large groups of ethnic Tamils and to detain families for indefinite periods of time.

	many families had lost everything

“The Sri Lankan government’s attitude so far has been to seek international assistance while rejecting international standards or scrutiny” said Sam Zarifi.

“The United Nations and donor government must ensure Sri Lanka acts on its obligations and ends the discrimination and suffering of the displaced people.” he added.