Colombo - Tamil rebels fired on a government ship delivering food and
supplies for displaced civilians in north-eastern Sri Lanka on Monday,
a military spokesman said.

Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the ship was unloading flour, lentils,
sugar and fuel when it came under artillery attack at a port in
Puthumathalan, in the Mullaitivu district, 410 kilometres north-east of
Colombo.

He said artillery shells fell as close as 50 metres from the ship,
forcing the captain to order a halt to the delivery and return to a
harbour in the government-controlled area of Trincomalee.

There was no immediate statement from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) about the military's claim.

The food was meant for up to 70,000 people said to be trapped in a
40-square-kilometre area where fighting between government forces and
rebels is ongoing.

The attack came as minority Tamil political parties called on the
international community to help bring an end to the war and provide
urgent food and medical aid to people stranded in war-torn areas.

The Tamil National Allaince (TNA), which represents 22
parliamentarians, claimed that as many 333,000 civilians remain in
conflict zones.

Meanwhile an Indian medical team was to arrive in Colombo Monday
afternoon to help put up a hospital close to the combat zone in
Pulmoddai, 320 kilometres north-east of Colombo to treat displaced
people leaving the rebel-held areas.

The government claims the rebels are preventing civilians from leaving
the affected areas, but an estimated 36,000 people have been allowed to
leave the rebel-held areas since January 1.

The military says the final phase of the offensive to recapture
rebel-held areas has been delayed due to the large number of civilians
in the area.

Security forces launched an operation to recapture rebel-held areas in
the north and east in August 2006, and claim to be close disarming the
Tamil Tigers and ending the 25-year-old conflict. (dpa)