11.   Amnesty International accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam rebels on Tuesday of abducting Tamil civilians for ransom and demanded the guerrillas stop such acts immediately.

12.   As he was sentenced, Somaratne told the court that the soldiers sentenced to death merely buried the victims and could show authorities the graves of Tamil civilians.

13.   As the trucks traveled through teak forest and arrived at Piramanalamkulam, hundreds of Tamil civilians, including mothers holding their babies on their laps, cheered the drivers.

14.   But as the troops moved northwards, international relief workers in Vavuniya feared that hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians displaced by earlier fighting could be affected.

15.   But as the troops battled their way towards the city, most of the Tamil civilians and international relief workers fled.

16.   Civil war between the government and Tamil rebels in the distant north is creating trouble for Tamil civilians who lived for years peacefully in the capital.

17.   Clandestine rebel radio had warned Tamil civilians of the military build-up in the north.

18.   Earlier, Tamil civilians had to apply for numerous passes to travel in Jaffna Peninsula.

19.   Fearing revenge attacks on Tamil civilians after the bombing, the government appealed on radio and TV for Sri Lankans to remain calm.

20.   Five Tamil civilians were killed when the military bombed and shelled villages in Tamil rebel-controlled areas in northeastern Sri Lanka, the rebels said Friday.