Sri Lanka in 'final stages' of Tamil conflict
Updated on 15 May 2009
Sri Lanka's army says it is in the "final stage" of operations against the Tamil Tigers with its troops just one and a half kilometres short of "dominating the whole coast".
Aerial shots released by the Sri Lankan authorities appear to show some of the thousands of refugees trapped between the two sides trying to escape by boat.
The government has rejected international calls for a truce - the Red Cross has called the crisis an "unimaginable catastrophe". The Sri Lankan president has said that all trapped civilians would be "rescued" within two days.