We may not have much more time to find out. President Rajapaksa said today that the government planned to conquer the remaining Tiger-held area in the next five or six days.
“With relatives like these…”: A Sri Lankan government minister said today that the civilians who’ve managed to flee the war zone already “are totally free and willing to be members of a single Sri Lankan family.” Meanwhile, a Tiger spokesman today denied that the Tigers were holding the estimated 50,000 civilians in the war zone as human shields, saying, “We all are family. How could anyone hold his or her family as a ‘human shield?'”
Before it’s too late, the Tigers must announce that civilians are free to leave the war zone and the Sri Lankan government must agree to a pause in the fighting, so the civilians can leave safely and aid can get into the zone.