LTTE has done much damage to Tamil community, it should release all civilians and lay down arms for the interest of Tamil community, says External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"As the conflict enters what may be the final phase of military operations, the LTTE would best serve the interest of the Tamils by immediately releasing all civilians and laying down arms," AFP quoted the External Affairs Minister speaking at the Lok Sabha today.

He said during the last two weeks, nearly 35,000 civilians have come out of the LTTE-held areas and around 70,000 are still estimated to be trapped in an area of about 150 sq km still under control of the Tamil Tigers.

"The LTTE were reportedly using them as human shields," Mukherjee said, adding "sadly, some of those escaping from the conflict have been caught in crossfire and, in recent incidents have been stopped and even killed by LTTE cadres."

Mukherjee said India is ready to facilitate evacuation of civilians from the area of conflict, working with the government of Sri Lanka and the International Red Cross.
Red Cross should "take the responsibility for the security, screening and rehabilitation of these internally displaced persons," he said.

Noting that India has "strong concerns" over the safety, security and welfare of civilians caught in the conflict, he said this has "led us to stay actively engaged to prevent a further deterioration of humanitarian conditions."