LTTE shot at a Catholic nun who is trying to cross over to the safe zone with civilians yesterday.

"When we tried to escape with civilians, LTTE fired at me. I got shot in my leg," Sister Louise who tried to steer civilians away from the fighting, from Puttumatalan village was quoted having said.

On Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) ferried out 240 sick and wounded people from Puttumatalan by boat with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Navy.

According to Al Jazeera television channel LTTE have shot at injured civilians fleeing fighting.

Exclusive footage broadcast by Al Jazeera on Thursday showed people attempting to flee with the help of the aid organisation. The ICRC said the deaths of 16 patients by LTTE artillery fire three days ago highlighted the dangers faced by civilians in the war zone.

Sister Mary Colostica, a 74-year-old Catholic nun, said she was shot at as she tried to shepherd more than 2,000 civilians from village to village, Al Jazeera reported.

"When we tried to leave, the LTTE didn't allow civilians to leave and said only we [the nuns] can leave ... so we stayed back with the civilians," she said from a hospital in Trincomalee, the eastern port where she and the others were taken by the ICRC, the television channel further said.

The civilians were treated at a makeshift field hospital before moving towards Puttumatalan to escape from LTTE.