New Delhi - India is to send an emergency medical unit to Sri Lanka to help civilians wounded in the current conflict, a spokesman for India's External Affairs Ministry said Thursday.

"India and Sri Lanka have agreed to work together to address the urgent medical needs of these civilians," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in a statement.

The medical unit, which would be dispatched immediately, would comprise doctors, surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and support staff and medical equipment and supplies which would be augmented as required, Prakash said.

"India will also work with the government of Sri Lanka in the rehabilitation and reconstruction process in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka."

The decision to send emergency medical assistance came after Indian officials held discussions with their Sri Lankan counterparts on ways to help the civilians caught in the conflict between government troops and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Thousands of civilians are reportedly trapped in a small chunk of territory still under LTTE control.

The Sri Lankan government turned down an appeal for a ceasefire by the Tamil Tigers earlier in the week.

India has a large population of ethnic Tamils in the southern Tamil Nadu state and the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils is an emotive issue in the country. (dpa)