| GEO World | | Sri Lanka health official says 28 civilians killed | Updated at: 0822 PST, Sunday, April 19, 2009
COLOMBO: At least 28 civilians have been killed in two days of fighting as Sri Lankan troops try to push into a small ``no-fire zone'' where Tamil Tiger rebels have bunkered down for their final stand, a health official said.
The rebels lost to government forces the de facto state they controlled for years in parts of the country's north and east and have retreated into a tiny slice of land that the government earlier declared a haven for civilians fleeing the fighting in this island's nation's 25-year civil war.
There have been widespread international calls for a cease-fire to allow the more than 100,000 civilians trapped in the 7.7-squaremile (20-square kilometers) zone to reach safety _ but the government has rejected a long-term cease-fire, saying it would only give the rebels time to regroup.
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