( Aljazeera.net)
Sri Lankan troops have advanced further into territory held by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) after heavy fighting in the country's northeastern war zone, the military has said.
Troops captured a mud embankment built by the LTTE to slow the government offensive, the defence ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"Troops continued their advance further... amidst stiff resistance as LTTE terrorists made their maximum effort to hold the [embankment] built to obstruct the security forces."
Sri Lankan troops captured a nearly 200 metre stretch of land in the operation, neutralising the few LTTE strong positions, the ministry said.
It said the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers, suffered "considerable damages" in the fighting on Thursday, though the ministry did not provide casualty figures.
"Troops also received minor damages from exploding anti-personnel mines," it said.
The Sri Lankan government has rejected a call for a truce from the LTTE, demanding the rebels surrender or face defeat.
The ongoing fighting between the military and the LTTE has sparked international concern over the plight of civilians trapped in the strip of land controlled by the LTTE.
Thousands of people have fled the area but the UN has said that up to 50,000 civilians could still be trapped.
Red Cross evacuation
On Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it evacuated 495 sick and injured Sri Lankans and their accompanying caregivers from the war zone.
But it said there is still more to be done.
"Not all the wounded could be evacuated today, and it is of the utmost importance that more evacuations take place over the coming days," Jacques de Maio, the ICRC head of operations for South Asia, said.
"The food and medical supplies that have been delivered remain insufficient to cover the basic needs of the people there."
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