Colombo, Aug. 30 : Sri Lanka''s Air Force has begun dropping leaflets urging civilians to leave the country’s northern areas, which are presently under the control of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

According to the BBC, the move comes ahead of what is expected to be a fight to the finish in Sri Lanka''s protracted civil war.

Aid agencies say 134,000 displaced people are in Kilinochchi District alone, where the rebels have their administrative headquarters. More than half of them have abandoned their homes in the last three months.

Colombo - More than 250 trainee soldiers came down Thursday with food poisoning in eastern Sri Lanka after eating bread and fish, a medical officer in the area said.

Colombo - At least five soldiers and 36 rebels were killed in fighting in northern Sri Lanka as troops further expanded their area of control, military officials said Thursday.

The fighting was reported from Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts, over 300 kilometres north of the capital.

In one of the incidents in Thunukkai, Kilinochchi district, 19 rebels and four soldiers were killed when heavy fighting erupted on Wednesday, officials said.

Colombo - At least 10 sailors were injured in an airstrike by Tamil rebels on a north-east naval base adjoining a harbour, military officials said Wednesday.

Rebels dropped two bombs Tuesday night on the naval base in Trincomalee, 240 kilometres north-east of Colombo, from a low-flying air craft and escaped into rebel-held areas.

According to the navy only one of the bombs exploded.

"The bomb that has exploded has also failed to inflict considerable damages," according to a military statement.