COLOMBO, Feb 17: There has been no response from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to appeals from across the globe to allow an estimated 80,000 Tamil civilians leave the area under its control, Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Dr Palitha Kohona said on Tuesday.

Briefing foreign media on the humanitarian situation in the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka, Kohona said that the LTTE’s response to appeals from governments, humanitarian organisations, interested individuals and influential members of the Tamil diaspora was a “resounding silence”.

“The LTTE is keen on keeping the civilians with it so that they could be used as a human shield to stop the advance of the Sri Lankan troops into its last stronghold in Mullaitivu district in north-eastern Sri Lanka,” Kohona said.

Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said there were “influential sections of the Tamil diaspora” who had responded to the call of the Sri Lankan government to take up the issue of the trapped civilians with the LTTE. But so far, they had not succeeded in moving the LTTE, he noted.

Dr Kohona said the armed forces had slowed their operations in the Mullaitivu area to minimise civilian casualties and facilitate the movement of civilians from the LTTE-controlled areas to the government-controlled ones.

Since the beginning of the year, 35, 744 civilians have come out. About 75,000 to 80,000 remain in the war zone of northern Sri Lanka.

FOOD SENT BY SHIPS: The government has decided to resume food transportation to the 80,000 civilians trapped in the zone, said S.B. Divaratne, an official responsible for despatching essential commodities.

He said the food would be transported by tugs and ships from Trincomalee to Mullaitivu till the security forces declare the land routes as safe. The first consignment of 50 tons left on Tuesday. A passenger ship used for transporting wounded civilians from Mullaitivu to Trincomalee would be used to send food and medicines to Mullaitivu.

The last food transportation to the conflict zone by road, took place on Jan 29.