Coimbatore, Jan 30 : Students in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu took to streets on Thursday demanding the government''s intervention to protect Tamils trapped in fighting between the Sri Lankan army and the Tiger rebels.

Over 2,000 students boycotted classes at the Government College in Coimbatore and raised slogans against the Central Government for not hearing the voice of the Tamil people.

"There should be a real ceasefire in Sri Lanka, and within the united Sri Lanka, a separate Tamil state should be formed. We want the Central Government to intervene to stop the war in Sri Lanka," said Jeeva Lakshmi, a protester.

Aid agencies estimate there are about 250,000 Tamil refugees in grave danger in the shrinking war zone, and the International Committee of the Red Cross say hundreds have been killed in the exchange of fire.

There have been several protests in Tamil Nadu, with political parties and Tamil- centric organisation demanding the government''s intervention to stop the war in Sri Lanka.

India maintains the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka is an internal matter of that island nation and has refrained from any kind of intervention.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, after a brief trip to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, pledged New Delhi''s aid in post-war reconstruction efforts, but made no mention of a truce as demanded by Tamil Nadu politicians in the ruling coalition. (ANI)