Thousands of Muslims flee fierce fighting in Sri Lanka

Tens of thousands of civilians were fleeing their homes as fighting spread in Sri Lanka. Many walked for miles through minefields and jungle to escape the fighting, abandoning their homes to the fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels.

They had to brave rockets and mortar fire while carrying their children and a few possessions with them. At least five were killed when they were hit by artillery fire, according to a local political party.

The Norwegian envoy who is the chief mediator between the government and the Tigers, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, was in Sri Lanka to try to prevent a return to full-scale civil war. But residents of the town where most of the fighting has been, Muttur, had given up hope for a ceasefire. Aid workers believe between 20,000 and 30,000 people had been trapped in the town by fighting - most of whom are now believed to have fled.

Muttur is a predominantly Muslim town, and most of those fleeing are Muslims - a minority community that supports neither the government nor the Tigers, but has often accused by both sides of collaborating with the other.

Mr Hanssen-Bauer is in town to try to salvage the ceasefire agreed in 2002. He is also there to try to save the Scandinavian ceasefire monitoring mission. EU member countries have had to withdraw their monitors after the Tigers refused to guarantee their safety in retaliation after the EU labelled the guerrillas as a 'terrorist organisation'.

Both sides were claiming to be in control of Muttur. Twenty civilians were confirmed dead on Thursday compared to 12 rebels and one government soldier.

The current fighting began when the government launched a ground offensive against Tiger-held territory last weekend. The government was at pains to insist it only resorted to ground action because the Tigers cut off water supply to government territory.