Colombo - Government troops have cornered the Tamil rebels in an area of 24 square kilometres in northern Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said Thursday.

"We have eliminated terrorism from most parts of the country and will be able to report that terrorism has been eliminated from the entire country within days", Wickremanayake told parliament.

Geneva - An aid worker was killed in the conflict area in northern Sri Lanka, the humanitarian organization CARE International said Wednesday.

R. Sabesan, aged 24, worked for CARE and was hit in a shelling Tuesday in the so-called no-fire zone. He later died of his wounds as he was unable to access medical care, the aid group said.

"The toll this war is taking on civilians is devastating," said Nick Osborne from CARE in a statement. "Humanitarian workers trapped in the conflict zone are just as much at risk as anyone else."

Colombo - Sri Lanka's opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who signed a Norwegian-backed peace deal with Tamil rebels as the country's prime minister in
2002, is under pressure from his own party to step down, local newspapers said Wednesday.

A section of lawmakers from the opposition United National Party (UNP) Wickremesinghe to step down.

Senior party members are to meet Wednesday night for discussions on the issue.

Colombo - Civilians in Tamil rebel-held areas are risking their lives and to flee fighting in the northern region, state-run television said Tuesday.

On Monday the Navy rescued 139 Tamil civilians including 53 children who were fleeing by boat and took them to a welfare centre run by the government.

In another instance a father and son who escaped by boat told the state run television that they were fired upon by the rebels and the son was hit by a bullet, but still managed to reach the shore, the military said.

Colombo - Tamil rebels were intensifying their assault on government troops in what has been described as the last few areas held by rebels in northern Sri Lanka.

An army spokesman said in the latest fighting around the Pudukudirippu area, 390 kilometres north east of the capital Colombo, troops clashed with rebels killing at least seven rebels on Sunday. The bodies along with seven T56 assault rifles were found in the area.

He said several soldiers were injured in the fighting, but did not give further details.

Colombo  - Over 900 civilians left the Tamil rebel-controlled areas in northern Sri Lanka over the weekend as fierce fighting continued between government troops and the rebels, military officials said Sunday.

A group of civilians had left on their own while others were helped by the International Committee of the Red Cross to leave the Mullaitivu area, 395 kilometres north-east of the capital by sea.

Military officials said 423 civilians had traveled Saturday by the ship Green Ocean to reach the north-eastern port city of Trincomalee, an area 60 kilometres south of where the fighting was continuing.