A top U.N. official headed to Sri Lanka on Friday on an urgent mission to safeguard civilians trapped by fighting as thousands of desperate war refugees escaped across the front lines into government territory. Government officials say they have cornered the Tamil Tiger rebels in a tiny coastal strip and stand poised to end this island nation's quarter-century civil war. However, international concern has grown for tens of thousands of civilians under threat from the heavy artillery bombardments shaking the war zone, and the Red Cross warned of «an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe» for the hundreds of wounded trapped without treatment. Nearly 4,000 civilians waded across a lagoon overnight and broke out of the war zone, while another thousand waited to flee, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said Friday. The rebels fired on those leaving, killing four and wounding 14 others, he said. About 200,000 civilians have escaped the war zone in recent months and are being held in overwhelmed displacement camps.
