Thousands of trapped Tamil civilians continue to flee Sri Lanka's war zone as the 24-hour deadline, set by the Sri Lankan government for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supremo V Prabhakaran and the remaining members of the LTTE to lay down their arms, came close to running out.
Almost 40,000 civilians had come over to government controlled areas till late Monday, a Defence Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
Image: Injured civilians are seen in a make-shift hospital in this photograph released by the pro-LTTE group 'Mercy Mission to Vanni' on April 20. LTTE claims that these are civilians fleeing from an area still controlled by the LTTE in the 'No Fire Zone' near the village of Putumatalan in Puthukkudiyirippu, Sri Lanka.
Photograph: Mercy Mission to Vanni/Handout/Reuters
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