Put pressure on LTTE to free civilians - President Rajapaksa

President Mahinda Rajapaksa called on all those pressuring his government, both locally and internationally for an extended "humanitarian pause" or a ceasefire, to instead appeal to the LTTE to give freedom of movement "just for one hour" to innocent civilians stranded in the No-Fire Zone (NFZ), in the North.
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Government declares special ceasefire? War restricted to defensive operations only

Sri Lanka`s president on Sunday ordered the military not to attack the Tamil Tigers during a two-day holiday in order to allow thousands of civilians to escape a no-fire zone where they are being held by the separatists.The President has been very concerned regarding New Year celebrations for the people trapped in no-war-zone and has directed that all military operations should be stopped during these days to celebrate New Year.
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