UN calls Lanka weekend attack bloodbath

The rebels blamed the Government,which in turn said the LTTE had fired on the people it has been holding hostage for months.

A doctor in the war zone said at least 433 bodies had been brought to a makeshift hospital,and 1,347 people had been wounded in two days of shelling.

Most of the dead bodies are in the road,houses and everywhere. In the shelling there should be more dead,around 1,000, said a man who identified himself as Thurairajah Varatharajan,the senior medical officer for the district.

Meanwhile on Monday,elusive LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakarans top military aide is believed to have been killed by the Sri Lankan Army in heavy fighting in the islands north,even as 1,000 civilians broke away from the rebel-held areas and crossed over to safe zones.

Irasiah Ilanthriyan,the military spokesman of the LTTE,was seriously injured in a skirmish with the troops in Kariyamullivaikkal in Wanni region on Sunday and later died,official sources said.

LTTE Sea Tigers deputy chief Cheliyan was also killed in the skirmish that took place late last week in the rebel-held area. Pro-LTTE website TamilNet.com reported that Ilanthirayan was seriously wounded in clashes. Ilanthriyan was a top aide of Prabhakaran and was incharge of the militarys media department.

Troops operating in close proximity to the newly declared civilian safe zone have further continued their ground advances to rescue the civilian hostages held by the LTTE rebels on Sunday,the Defence Ministry said.