Civilian warning as Sri Lanka conflict escalates
Updated
The United Nations says tens of thousands of civilians in Sri Lanka risk being trapped by the escalating conflict between Tamil separatists and government forces.
Claire Mackay reports from the ABC's South Asia Bureau Sri Lankan fighter planes have pounded Tamil Tiger positions after separatists killed 25 people in an attack on a government military complex.
A spokesman from Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry said air strikes hit a key Tamil intelligence command centre.
In a sign of the escalating hostilities the government has ordered all aid workers including the United Nations and the Red Cross to leave the region within a week.
The UN chief Ban Ki-moon says he's alarmed by the escalating violence and is gravely concerned for the humanitarian consequences for civilians caught up in the violence.
