Sri Lankan troops on Friday gained more ground in the last territory held by the LTTE and confined it to a 10 sq km swathe of coastal land at Mullaitivu, even as thousands of civilians continued to flee the war zone taking the number to more than a lakh.
The Government said a total of 2,934 civilians escaped from the clutches of the LTTE on Friday and reached the Government-controlled areas.
"This amount bought the total of civlians arriving from the uncleared areas during the past 4 days to a massive 1,06,007," the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.
The military said it was pushing ahead with its offensive, engaging the rebels in heavy fighting in the tiny coastal strip still held by the LTTE, who once controlled majority of areas in the north.
It said the LTTE facing "total defeat" are now cornered into a 10 sq. km swathe of coastal land, which includes the remaining 8 sq. km path of the ‘No Fire Zone’, the Defence Ministry said.
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