British MPs to visit refugee camps

 A group of British MPs has travelled to Sri Lanka to discuss the future of tens of thousands of civilians affected by the conflict in the north of the country. Former defence secretary Des Browne, whose appointment as Britain's special envoy to Sri Lanka was rejected by Colombo, is taking part in the visit which includes visiting camps for displaced people in the north.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan forces battled Tamil Tiger militants in fresh conflict on Monday, the military said.

Media reports quoted the military saying it had captured a fortification from the rebels in heavy fighting on Sunday along the 4.5-kilometre-long coastal strip under rebel control.

Health officials in the region reported continued shelling, including an attack on a makeshift hospital that killed 64 patients and others on Saturday.

Navy gunboats were also reported to have fired scores of shells along the coast on Monday as hungry families crowded the shore to buy fish from returning fishermen.

Members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been fighting for an independent home for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils in the north and east of the country for the past 25 years. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 1983, but that figure could now be far higher. 

A website linked with the Tamil militants, TamilNet, on Monday claimed that the Sri Lankan Army was preparing for a major onslaught against separatists in the small area of land where they are reportedly confined in the north-east of the island.

Sri Lanka has refused growing diplomatic pressure to stop its offensive against the rebel group's last stronghold in the northeast to safeguard an estimated 50,000 civilians trapped in the area.

The United Nations and others have called for a humanitarian pause in the fighting to allow the trapped civilians to be evacuated.

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