Sri Lanka Government: Thousands Of Civilians Pouring Out Of War Zone

COLOMBO (AFP)--At least 10,000 civilians have escaped Sri Lanka's war zone in the last four days, the government said Sunday, as the president warned Tamil Tiger rebels to surrender unconditionally or be killed.

The Tigers are fighting for survival after being driven back into a small patch of jungle by a military offensive that threatens to end their 30-year armed campaign for an independent ethnic Tamil homeland.

"Over 10,000 civilians have come to Kilinochchi while 139 others have come to Jaffna since the Independence Day [Wednesday]," the ministry said. "Among the rescued civilians are over 2,800 children and about 3,000 women."

The ministry added that medical care, food and water were being provided at the frontlines for the fleeing civilians, who it says were among those held by the Tigers as "human shields."

Government reports of the civilians' movement and recent army advances cannot be verified as journalists, aid groups and international observers are not allowed into the conflict zone.

Towns Wiped Out In Australian Fires

SYDNEY (AFP)--Australia's rampaging wildfires have wiped out a pretty resort village and could have largely destroyed another town, authorities said Sunday.

At least 65 people have died in the fires in southeastern Victoria state, with the village of Marysville and the town of Kinglake among the hardest hit.

"Marysville, which was one the loveliest townships in Victoria, if not Australia, has just about been wiped out," said Pastor Ivor Jones, whose own home in the town was razed.

Victoria state's Country Fire Authority said only one building was left standing in the popular tourist hamlet, although there were no fatalities among the residents.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said whole towns would need to be rebuilt and the federal government was preparing a massive disaster relief effort.

Shocked survivors in Marysville told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. how the flames devoured houses one by one, with exploding gas canisters being hurled through walls.

Aerial pictures taken by the broadcaster show a town flattened, with neatly laid-out streets surrounded by rubble and blackened trees.

The village, northeast of the Victoria state capital Melbourne, had just 1,000 permanent residents, but its beauty and proximity to winter skiing had attracted city dwellers who built holiday and retirement homes there.

Egypt Hopes For Gaza Truce Accord In Next Few Days-Spokesman

CAIRO (AFP)--Egypt is hopeful that a Gaza truce accord between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas can be reached in the next few days, foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told AFP on Sunday.

"There are positive signs that in the next few days we will reach an understanding on a truce and and a partial reopening of crossing points [into Gaza]," Zaki said.

Egypt has been mediating indirect talks for a lasting truce since the end of the 22-day Gaza war, which killed at least 1,330 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

The fighting ended when both Israel and the Gaza Strip's Islamist rulers called separate ceasefires on Jan. 18.

However, the fragile calm has been tested by Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and retaliatory air strikes.

On Saturday, a spokesman for Hamas said it expected an agreement with Israel on the the reopening of border crossings into the Gaza Strip "within the next few days."