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The Group of Eight nations issued a plea on Saturday for thousands of civilians caught up in Sri Lanka's civil war and strongly condemned the Tamil Tiger rebels' use of "human shields".
With diplomatic pressure over the 25-year-old war building up and thousands of refugees unable to escape the battle zone in the north of the country, G8 foreign ministers urged an end to the conflict and backed sending in U.N. humanitarian assistance.
"The plight of civilians still trapped by the fighting and who remain at extreme risk from the ongoing hostilities is our primary concern," said a statement issued by Rome, chairman of the G8 which groups the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Russia and Canada.
Diplomatic pressure has boiled over this week with the U.N. Security Council, the United States, India and others demanding Sri Lanka stop its offensive and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) surrender to avert civilian casualties.
"Strongly condemning the use of civilians of human shields by the LTTE, the killing of civilians and terrorism in all its manifestations, we call all parties to take all necessary action to avoid further civilian casualties," said the G8 statement.
The U.N. says as many as 6,500 people may have been killed in the fighting in the last three months, as the Sri Lankan military attempts to finish off the LTTE, which has fought since the 1970s to create a state for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils.
Both sides accuse the other of firing on civilians, and both deny doing so.
With diplomatic pressure over the 25-year-old war building up and thousands of refugees unable to escape the battle zone in the north of the country, G8 foreign ministers urged an end to the conflict and backed sending in U.N. humanitarian assistance.
"The plight of civilians still trapped by the fighting and who remain at extreme risk from the ongoing hostilities is our primary concern," said a statement issued by Rome, chairman of the G8 which groups the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Russia and Canada.
Diplomatic pressure has boiled over this week with the U.N. Security Council, the United States, India and others demanding Sri Lanka stop its offensive and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) surrender to avert civilian casualties.
"Strongly condemning the use of civilians of human shields by the LTTE, the killing of civilians and terrorism in all its manifestations, we call all parties to take all necessary action to avoid further civilian casualties," said the G8 statement.
The U.N. says as many as 6,500 people may have been killed in the fighting in the last three months, as the Sri Lankan military attempts to finish off the LTTE, which has fought since the 1970s to create a state for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils.
Both sides accuse the other of firing on civilians, and both deny doing so.
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